Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a)
(1) All determinations or diagnoses of Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, HIV-related illness, and Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) shall be reported to the commissioner by
physicians and other persons authorized to order diagnostic tests or make
medical diagnoses or their agents as soon as possible but no later than seven
(7) days after the provider's receipt of a positive laboratory result or after
diagnosis, whichever is sooner. Physicians and other persons authorized to
order diagnostic tests or make medical diagnoses, or their agents, shall report
to the commissioner any determination or diagnosis of acute HIV infection,
including primary HIV infection, acute retroviral syndrome, and early HIV
infection, within one day (24 hours) of such determination or diagnosis. Acute
HIV infection is the earliest stage of HIV disease, and it precedes the
development of detectable antibodies to HIV resulting from the viral infection.
A report of acute HIV infection must include the basis for the determination or
diagnosis, which is:
(i) laboratory testing
results demonstrating the presence of p24 antigen and HIV virus (RNA or DNA),
in the absence of HIV antibodies; and/or
(ii) clinical evidence of documented negative
testing history which includes previous negative or indeterminate test results
within 180 days before the first confirmed positive HIV test result of any
type.
(2) All
determinations of HIV infection, HIV-related illness and AIDS shall be reported
to the Commissioner by blood banks as defined in article 5, title V of the
Public Health Law, by tissue banks and organ procurement organizations as
defined by article 43-B of the Public Health Law as soon as possible but no
later than 14 days after receipt of a confirmed positive laboratory result or
after diagnosis, whichever is sooner. Such banks and organizations shall report
confirmed positive HIV antibody test results and reactive nucleic acid test
results.
(3) Pathologists, coroners
and medical examiners or other persons determining from examination of a corpse
or from the history of the events leading to death, that at the time of death
the individual was apparently affected with HIV infection, HIV-related illness
or AIDS shall also make such report to the Commissioner within 14 days after
receipt of a test result or determination.
(4) Laboratories performing tests for
screening, diagnosis or monitoring of HIV infection for New York State
residents and/or New York State health care providers shall report to the
Commissioner cases of determinations or diagnoses of HIV infection, HIV-related
illness and AIDS on a schedule to be specified by the Commissioner.
Laboratories shall report the following: any reactive test result from an
antigen or antibody test performed as an initial screen for HIV infection and
the results from all supplemental tests performed to verify HIV infection, all
HIV nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) test results, all CD4 lymphocyte counts and
percents unless the test was known to be performed for reasons other than HIV
infection or HIV- related illness, HIV subtype and antiviral drug resistance
testing in a format designated by the Commissioner, and the results of other
tests as may be determined by the Commissioner to indicate a diagnosis of HIV
infection, HIV-related illness or AIDS.
(b) Reports, including names and addresses of
the protected individual, all contact and locating information and other
information including demographic, and identifying information as may be
specified by the Commissioner, shall be made in a manner and format as
prescribed by the Commissioner. For the requesting provider and facility, the
following information shall be included: provider and facility name, complete
provider and facility address and telephone number, and provider and facility
National Provider Identification. Information reported shall also include names
and addresses, if available, of contacts, including spouses, known to the
physician or other person authorized to order diagnostic tests or make medical
diagnoses, or provided to them by the protected individual, and the date each
contact was notified if contact notification has already been done; and
information, in relation to each reported contact, required by an approved
domestic violence screening protocol. After receiving the report, the
Commissioner or designated representative may request the individual making the
report or the person who ordered the diagnostic tests to provide additional
information as may be required for the epidemiologic investigation, case
finding and analysis of HIV infection, HIV-related illness and acquired immune
deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and to implement Public Health Law Article 21, Title
III. Notwithstanding this subdivision, test results from New York State
approved anonymous test sites shall not be reported to the Commissioner unless
the test subject chooses to supply identification and convert the anonymous
test result to a confidential test result.
(c)
Confidentiality. Such
reports and additional information maintained by the Commissioner or designated
representative, including all information generated by contact notification and
domestic violence screening activities, shall be kept confidential as required
by Public Health Law, Article 21, Title III, and shall not be disclosed except
when in the judgment of the public health official, necessary to other
authorized public health officials for conducting accurate and complete
epidemiological monitoring of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and for conducting contact
notification activities, except that information may be disclosed to public
health officials in other jurisdictions when necessary to notify the contact or
for purposes of de-duplication; no information about the protected individual
will be released to any person in the contact notification process. Reports and
information may be used in the aggregate in programs approved by the
Commissioner:
(1) for the improvement of the
quality of medical care provided to persons with HIV/AIDS; or
(2) with patient identifiers when used within
the State or local health department by public health disease programs to
assess co-morbidity or completeness of reporting and to direct program needs,
in which case patient identifiers shall not be disclosed outside the State or
local health department or
(3) when
used for purposes of linkage to and retention in care, in which case the
protected individual's individually identifiable health information may be
shared among st ate health departments, local health departments, health care
providers as defined in section
63.1(k)
of this Part, and entities engaged in care coordinat ion that have a clinical,
diagnostic, or public health interest in the patient . For purposes of this
section, care coordination shall mean managing, referring to, locating,
coordinating, and monitoring health care services for the individual to assure
that all medically necessary health care services are made available to and are
effectively used by the individual in a timely manner, consistent with patient
autonomy . Care coordination shall be conducted by or with the participation of
the individual's health care provider to the extent
possible.
