West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 64 - Health › Title 64 - LEGISLATIVE RULE WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES › Series 64-07 - Reportable Diseases, Events and Conditions › Section 64-7-20 - Confidentiality

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
20.1. Any
				epidemiologic information collected and maintained pursuant to this rule by
				local health officers or the Commissioner which identifies an individual or
				facility as having or suspected of having a reportable disease or condition, or
				as having been identified in an epidemiologic investigation is confidential and
				exempt from disclosure as provided in W. Va. Code §
									29B-1-1, et
				seq., the Freedom of Information Act. The same information is also confidential
				and exempt from disclosure pursuant to a subpoena, unless accompanied by a
				Court Order signed by a Judge.
20.2. In the case of an individual, the
				Commissioner or a local health officer may release confidential information
				identified in subsection 20.1. of this section to the following:
20.2.a. The patient;
20.2.b. The patient's legal representative
				whose authority encompasses the authority to access the patient's confidential
				information;
20.2.c. Individuals
				who maintain and operate the data and medical record systems used for the
				purposes of this rule, if the systems are protected from access by persons not
				otherwise authorized to receive the information;
20.2.d. The patient's physician or other
				medical care provider when the request is for information concerning the
				patient's medical records and is, in the determination of the Commissioner or
				the local health officer, to be used solely for the purpose of medical
				evaluation or treatment of the patient;
20.2.e. Any individual with the written
				consent of the patient and of all other individuals identified, if applicable,
				in the information requested;
20.2.f. Staff of a federal, State, or local
				health department or other agencies with the responsibility for the control and
				treatment of disease, to the extent necessary for the agency to enforce
				specific relevant provisions of federal, State and local law, rules and
				regulations concerning the control and treatment of disease;
20.2.g. Medical personnel caring for a
				potentially exposed individual to the extent necessary to protect the health or
				life of the exposed individual;
20.2.h. The manager or director of a licensed
				facility, restaurant, school or daycare where the case or suspected case
				resides, or is employed or in attendance, if determined absolutely necessary by
				the Commissioner for protection of the public's health under the following
				provisions:
20.2.h.1. Disclosed information
				is limited to the name of the individual, the name of the disease, laboratory
				test results associated with the reportable disease and steps the manager or
				director shall take to assure protection of the health of the public;
				and
20.2.h.2. The personal identity
				of the employee shall be kept confidential by the manager or director to whom a
				disclosure was made; and
20.2.i. The persons to whom reports are
				required to be filed under W. Va. Code § 49-6A-1, et seq., regarding
				children suspected to be abused or neglectedis subject to the confidentiality
				protections of W. Va. Code §§
										16-4-10,
				16-29-1
				and
				16-3C-3,
				or any other applicable confidentiality code section.