139A.1 TITLE.
This chapter shall be known as the "Communicable and Infectious
Disease Reporting and Control Act". Section History: Rent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §1
139A.2 DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise
requires:
1. "Area quarantine" means prohibiting ingress and egress to
and from a building or buildings, structure or structures, or other
definable physical location, or portion thereof, to prevent or
contain the spread of a suspected or confirmed quarantinable disease
or to prevent or contain exposure to a suspected or known chemical,
biological, radioactive, or other hazardous or toxic agent.
2. "Business" means and includes every trade, occupation, or
profession.
3. "Care provider" means an individual who is trained and
authorized by federal or state law to provide health care services or
services of any kind in the course of the individual's official
duties, for compensation or in a voluntary capacity, who is a health
care provider, emergency medical care provider as defined in section
147A.1, fire fighter, or peace officer. "Care provider" also
means an individual who renders emergency care or assistance in an
emergency or due to an accident as described in section 613.17.
4. "Communicable disease" means any disease spread from
person to person or animal to person.
5. "Contagious or infectious disease" means hepatitis in any
form, meningococcal disease, tuberculosis, and any other disease,
with the exception of AIDS or HIV infection as defined in section
141A.1, determined to be life-threatening to a person exposed to the
disease as established by rules adopted by the department, based upon
a determination by the state epidemiologist and in accordance with
guidelines of the centers for disease control and prevention of the
United States department of health and human services.
6. "Department" means the Iowa department of public health.
7. "Designated officer" means a person who is designated by a
department, agency, division, or service organization to act as an
infection control liaison officer.
8. "Exposure" means the risk of contracting disease as
determined by the centers for disease control and prevention of the
United States department of health and human services and adopted by
rule of the department.
9. "Exposure-prone procedure" means a procedure performed by
a health care provider which presents a recognized risk of
percutaneous injury to the health care provider and if such an injury
occurs, the health care provider's blood is likely to contact a
patient's body cavity, subcutaneous tissues, or mucous membranes, or
an exposure-prone procedure as defined by the centers for disease
control and prevention of the United States department of health and
human services.
10. "HBV" means hepatitis B virus.
11. "Health care facility" means a health care facility as
defined in section 135C.1, an ambulatory surgical center, or a
clinic.
12. "Health care provider" means a person licensed to
practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery,
chiropractic, podiatry, nursing, dentistry, optometry, or as a
physician assistant, dental hygienist, or acupuncturist.
13. "HIV" means HIV as defined in section 141A.1.
14. "Hospital" means hospital as defined in section 135B.1.
15. "Isolation" means the separation of persons or animals
presumably or actually infected with a communicable disease or who
are disease carriers for the usual period of communicability of that
disease in such places, marked by placards if necessary, and under
such conditions as will prevent the direct or indirect conveyance of
the infectious agent or contagion to susceptible persons.
16. "Local board" means the local board of health.
17. "Local department" means the local health department.
18. "Placard" means a warning sign to be erected and
displayed on the periphery of a quarantine area, forbidding entry to
or exit from the area.
19. "Public health disaster" means public health disaster as
defined in section 135.140.
20. "Quarantinable disease" means any communicable disease
designated by rule adopted by the department as requiring quarantine
or isolation to prevent its spread.
21. "Quarantine" means the limitation of freedom of movement
of persons or animals that have been exposed to a quarantinable
disease within specified limits marked by placards for a period of
time equal to the longest usual incubation period of the disease in
such manner as to prevent the spread of a quarantinable disease which
affects people.
22. "Reportable disease" means any disease designated by rule
adopted by the department requiring its occurrence to be reported to
an appropriate authority.
23. "Sexually transmitted disease or infection" means a
disease or infection as identified by rules adopted by the
department, based upon a determination by the state epidemiologist
and in accordance with guidelines of the centers for disease control
and prevention of the United States department of health and human
services.
24. "Terminal cleaning" means cleaning procedures defined in
the isolation guidelines issued by the centers for disease control
and prevention of the United States department of health and human
services. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §2; 2001 Acts, ch 24, §29; 2001 Acts, ch 157,
§1--3; 2003 Acts, ch 33, §9, 11; 2004 Acts, ch 1168, §6; 2006 Acts,
ch 1079, §2; 2008 Acts, ch 1088, §141
Referred to in § 141A.9, 356.48
139A.3 REPORTS TO DEPARTMENT -- IMMUNITY --
CONFIDENTIALITY -- INVESTIGATIONS.
1. The health care provider or public, private, or hospital
clinical laboratory attending a person infected with a reportable
disease shall immediately report the case to the department.
However, when a case occurs within the jurisdiction of a local health
department, the report shall be made to the local department and to
the department. A health care provider or public, private, or
hospital clinical laboratory who files such a report which identifies
a person infected with a reportable disease shall assist in the
investigation by the department, a local board, or a local
department. The department shall publish and distribute instructions
concerning the method of reporting. Reports shall be made in
accordance with rules adopted by the department and shall require
inclusion of all the following information:
a. The patient's name.
b. The patient's address.
c. The patient's date of birth.
d. The sex of the patient.
e. The race and ethnicity of the patient.
f. The patient's marital status.
g. The patient's telephone number.
h. The name and address of the laboratory.
i. The date the test was found to be positive and the
collection date.
j. The name of the health care provider who performed the
test.
k. If the patient is female, whether the patient is pregnant.
2. a. Any person who, acting reasonably and in good faith,
files a report, releases information, or otherwise cooperates with an
investigation under this chapter is immune from any liability, civil
or criminal, which might otherwise be incurred or imposed for such
action.
b. A report or other information provided to or maintained by
the department, a local board, or a local department, which
identifies a person infected with or exposed to a reportable or other
disease or health condition, is confidential and shall not be
accessible to the public.
c. Notwithstanding paragraph "b", information contained
in the report may be reported in public health records in a manner
which prevents the identification of any person or business named in
the report. If information contained in the report concerns a
business, information disclosing the identity of the business may be
released to the public when the state epidemiologist or the director
of public health determines such a release of information necessary
for the protection of the health of the public.
3. A health care provider or public, private, or hospital
clinical laboratory shall provide the department, local board, or
local department with all information reasonably necessary to conduct
an investigation pursuant to this chapter upon request of the
department, local board, or local department. The department may
also subpoena records, reports, and any other evidence necessary to
conduct an investigation pursuant to this chapter from other persons,
facilities, and entities pursuant to rules adopted by the department.
Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §3; 2006 Acts, ch 1079, §3, 4
Referred to in § 135A.7
139A.3A INVESTIGATION AND CONTROL.
When the department receives a report under this chapter or acts
on other reliable information that a person is infected with a
disease, illness, or health condition that may be a potential cause
of a public health disaster, the department shall identify all
individuals reasonably believed to have been exposed to the disease,
illness, or health condition and shall investigate all such cases for
sources of infection and ensure that such cases are subject to proper
control measures. Any hospital, health care provider, or other
person may provide information, interviews, reports, statements,
memoranda, records, or other data related to the condition and
treatment of any individual, if not otherwise prohibited by the
federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996,
Pub. L. No. 104-191, to the department to be used for the limited
purpose of determining whether a public health disaster exists. Section History: Recent Form
2003 Acts, ch 33, §10, 11
139A.4 TYPE AND LENGTH OF ISOLATION OR QUARANTINE.
1. The type and length of isolation or quarantine imposed for a
specific communicable disease shall be in accordance with rules
adopted by the department.
2. The department and the local boards may impose and enforce
isolation and quarantine restrictions.
3. The department shall adopt rules governing terminal cleaning.
4. The department and local boards may impose and enforce area
quarantine restrictions according to rules adopted by the department.
Area quarantine shall be imposed by the least restrictive means
necessary to prevent or contain the spread of the suspected or
confirmed quarantinable disease or suspected or known hazardous or
toxic agent. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §4; 2006 Acts, ch 1079, §5
139A.5 ISOLATION OR QUARANTINE SIGNS ERECTED.
When isolation or a quarantine is established, appropriate
placards prescribed by the department shall be erected to mark the
boundaries of the place of isolation or quarantine. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §5
139A.6 COMMUNICABLE DISEASES.
If a person, whether or not a resident, is infected with a
communicable disease dangerous to the public health, the local board
shall issue orders in regard to the care of the person as necessary
to protect the public health. The orders shall be executed by the
designated officer as the local board directs or provides by rules.
Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §6
139A.7 DISEASED PERSONS MOVING -- RECORD FORWARDED.
If a person known to be suffering from a communicable disease
dangerous to the public health moves from the jurisdiction of a local
board into the jurisdiction of another local board, the local board
from whose jurisdiction the person moves shall notify the local board
into whose jurisdiction the person is moving. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §7
139A.8 IMMUNIZATION OF CHILDREN.
1. A parent or legal guardian shall assure that the person's
minor children residing in the state are adequately immunized against
diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, rubeola, rubella, and
varicella, according to recommendations provided by the department
subject to the provisions of subsections 3 and 4.
2. a. A person shall not be enrolled in any licensed child
care center or elementary or secondary school in Iowa without
evidence of adequate immunizations against diphtheria, pertussis,
tetanus, poliomyelitis, rubeola, rubella, and varicella.
b. Evidence of adequate immunization against haemophilus
influenza B and invasive pneumococcal disease shall be required prior
to enrollment in any licensed child care center.
c. Evidence of hepatitis type B immunization shall be
required of a child born on or after July 1, 1994, prior to
enrollment in school in kindergarten or in a grade.
d. Immunizations shall be provided according to
recommendations provided by the department subject to the provisions
of subsections 3 and 4.
3. Subject to the provision of subsection 4, the state board of
health may modify or delete any of the immunizations in subsection 2.
4. a. Immunization is not required for a person's enrollment
in any elementary or secondary school or licensed child care center
if either of the following applies:
(1) The applicant, or if the applicant is a minor, the
applicant's parent or legal guardian, submits to the admitting
official a statement signed by a physician, advanced registered nurse
practitioner, or physician assistant who is licensed by the board of
medicine, board of nursing, or board of physician assistants that the
immunizations required would be injurious to the health and
well-being of the applicant or any member of the applicant's family.
(2) The applicant, or if the applicant is a minor, the
applicant's parent or legal guardian, submits an affidavit signed by
the applicant, or if the applicant is a minor, the applicant's parent
or legal guardian, stating that the immunization conflicts with the
tenets and practices of a recognized religious denomination of which
the applicant is an adherent or member.
b. The exemptions under this subsection do not apply in times
of emergency or epidemic as determined by the state board of health
and as declared by the director of public health.
5. A person may be provisionally enrolled in an elementary or
secondary school or licensed child care center if the person has
begun the required immunizations and if the person continues to
receive the necessary immunizations as rapidly as is medically
feasible. The department shall adopt rules relating to the
provisional admission of persons to an elementary or secondary school
or licensed child care center.
6. The local board shall furnish the department, within sixty
days after the first official day of school, evidence that each
person enrolled in any elementary or secondary school has been
immunized as required in this section subject to subsection 4. The
department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A relating to the
reporting of evidence of immunization.
7. Local boards shall provide the required immunizations to
children in areas where no local provision of these services exists.
8. The department, in consultation with the director of the
department of education, shall adopt rules for the implementation of
this section and shall provide those rules to local school boards and
local boards. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §8; 2003 Acts, ch 78, §1--3; 2007 Acts, ch 10,
§24; 2007 Acts, ch 11, §1; 2009 Acts, ch 41, § 263
Referred to in § 239B.12, 299.4
139A.8A VACCINE SHORTAGE -- DEPARTMENT ORDER --
IMMUNITY.
1. In the event of a shortage of a vaccine, or in the event a
vaccine shortage is imminent, the department may issue an order
controlling, restricting, or otherwise regulating the distribution
and administration of the vaccine. The order may designate groups of
persons which shall receive priority in administration of the vaccine
and may prohibit vaccination of persons who are not included in a
priority designation. The order shall include an effective date,
which may be amended or rescinded only through a written order of the
department. The order shall be applicable to health care providers,
hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, health care facilities, local boards
of health, public health agencies, and other persons or entities that
distribute or administer vaccines.
2. A health care provider, hospital, clinic, pharmacy, health
care facility, local board of health, public health agency, or other
person or entity that distributes or administers vaccines shall not
be civilly liable in any action based on a failure or refusal to
distribute or administer a vaccine to any person if the failure or
refusal to distribute or administer the vaccine was consistent with a
department order issued pursuant to this section.
3. The department shall adopt rules to administer this section.
Section History: Recent Form
2005 Acts, ch 89, §10
139A.9 FORCIBLE REMOVAL -- ISOLATION -- QUARANTINE.
The forcible removal and isolation or quarantine of any infected
person shall be accomplished according to the rules and regulations
of the local board or the rules of the state board of health. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §9
139A.10 FEES FOR REMOVING.
The officers designated shall receive reasonable compensation for
their services as determined by the local board. The amount
determined shall be certified and paid in the same manner as other
expenses incurred under this chapter. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §10; 2002 Acts, ch 1119, §133
139A.11 SERVICES AND SUPPLIES -- ISOLATION --
QUARANTINE.
If the person under isolation or quarantine or the person liable
for the support of the person, in the opinion of the local board, is
financially unable to secure proper care, provisions, or medical
attendance, the local board shall furnish supplies and services
during the period of isolation or quarantine and may delegate the
duty, by rules, to one of its designated officers. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §11
139A.12 COUNTY LIABILITY FOR CARE, PROVISIONS, AND
MEDICAL ATTENDANCE.
The local board shall provide proper care, provisions, and medical
attendance for any person removed and isolated or quarantined in a
separate house or hospital for detention and treatment, and the care,
provisions, and medical attendance shall be paid for by the county in
which the infected person has a legal settlement, if the patient or
legal guardian is unable to pay. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §12
139A.13 RIGHTS OF ISOLATED OR QUARANTINED PERSONS.
Any person removed and isolated or quarantined in a separate house
or hospital may, at the person's own expense, employ the health care
provider of the person's choice, and may provide such supplies and
commodities as the person may require. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §13
139A.13A EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION.
1. An employer shall not discharge an employee, or take or fail
to take action regarding an employee's promotion or proposed
promotion, or take action to reduce an employee's wages or benefits
for actual time worked, due to the compliance of an employee with a
quarantine or isolation order or voluntary confinement request issued
by the department, a local board, or the centers for disease control
and prevention of the United States department of health and human
services.
2. An employee whose employer violates this section may petition
the court for imposition of a cease and desist order against the
person's employer and for reinstatement to the person's previous
position of employment. This section does not create a private cause
of action for relief of money damages. Section History: Recent Form
2006 Acts, ch 1184, §85; 2007 Acts, ch 159, §25
139A.14 SERVICES OR SUPPLIES -- AUTHORIZATION.
All services or supplies furnished to persons under this chapter
must be authorized by the local board or an officer of the local
board, and a written order designating the person employed to furnish
such services or supplies, issued before the services or supplies are
furnished, shall be attached to the bill when presented for audit and
payment. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §14
139A.15 FILING OF BILLS.
All bills incurred under this chapter in establishing,
maintaining, and terminating isolation and quarantine, in providing a
necessary house or hospital for isolation or quarantine, and in
making terminal cleanings, shall be filed with the local board. The
local board at its next regular meeting or special meeting called for
this purpose shall examine and audit the bills and, if found correct,
approve and certify the bills to the county board of supervisors for
payment. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §15
139A.16 ALLOWING CLAIMS.
All bills for supplies furnished and services rendered for persons
removed and isolated or quarantined in a separate house or hospital,
or for persons financially unable to provide their own sustenance and
care during isolation or quarantine, shall be allowed and paid for
only on a basis of the local market price for such provisions,
services, and supplies in the locality furnished. A bill for the
terminal cleaning of premises or effects shall not be allowed, unless
the infected person or those liable for the person's support are
financially unable to pay. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §16
139A.17 APPROVAL AND PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.
The board of supervisors is not bound by the action of the local
board in approving the bills, but shall pay the bills for a
reasonable amount and within a reasonable time. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §17
139A.18 REIMBURSEMENT FROM COUNTY.
If any person receives services or supplies under this chapter who
does not have a legal settlement in the county in which the bills
were incurred and paid, the amount paid shall be certified to the
board of supervisors of the county in which the person claims
settlement or owns property, and the board of supervisors of that
county shall reimburse the county from which the claim is certified,
in the full amount originally paid. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §18
Referred to in § 252.24
See § 252.24
139A.19 CARE PROVIDER NOTIFICATION.
1. a. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the
contrary, if a care provider sustains an exposure from an individual
while rendering health care services or other services, the
individual to whom the care provider was exposed is deemed to consent
to a test to determine if the individual has a contagious or
infectious disease and is deemed to consent to notification of the
care provider of the results of the test, upon submission of an
exposure report by the care provider to the hospital or other person
specified in this section to whom the individual is delivered by the
care provider. The exposure report form may be incorporated into the
Iowa prehospital care report, the Iowa prehospital advanced care
report, or a similar report used by an ambulance, rescue, or first
response service or law enforcement agency.
b. The hospital or other person specified in this section to
whom the individual is delivered shall conduct the test. If the
individual is delivered by the care provider to an institution
administered by the Iowa department of corrections, the test shall be
conducted by the staff physician of the institution. If the
individual is delivered by the care provider to a jail, the test
shall be conducted by the attending physician of the jail or the
county medical examiner. The sample and test results shall only be
identified by a number and shall not otherwise identify the
individual tested.
c. A hospital, institutions administered by the department of
corrections, and jails shall have written policies and procedures for
notification of a care provider under this section. The policies and
procedures shall include designation of a representative of the care
provider to whom notification shall be provided and who shall, in
turn, notify the care provider. The identity of the designated
representative of the care provider shall not be revealed to the
individual tested. The designated representative shall inform the
hospital, institution administered by the department of corrections,
or jail of those parties who received the notification, and following
receipt of this information and upon request of the individual
tested, the hospital, institution administered by the department of
corrections, or jail shall inform the individual of the parties to
whom notification was provided.
d. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, a care provider may transmit cautions regarding contagious
or infectious disease information in the course of the care
provider's duties over the police radio broadcasting system under
chapter 693 or any other radio-based communications system if the
information transmitted does not personally identify an individual.
2. If the individual tested is diagnosed or confirmed as having a
contagious or infectious disease, the hospital or other person
conducting the test shall notify the care provider or the designated
representative of the care provider who shall then notify the care
provider.
3. The notification to the care provider shall advise the care
provider of possible exposure to a particular contagious or
infectious disease and recommend that the care provider seek medical
attention. The notification shall be provided as soon as is
reasonably possible following determination that the individual has a
contagious or infectious disease. The notification shall not include
the name of the individual tested for the contagious or infectious
disease unless the individual consents. If the care provider who
sustained an exposure determines the identity of the individual
diagnosed or confirmed as having a contagious or infectious disease,
the identity of the individual shall be confidential information and
shall not be disclosed by the care provider to any other person
unless a specific written release is obtained from the individual
diagnosed with or confirmed as having a contagious or infectious
disease.
4. This section does not require or permit, unless otherwise
provided, a hospital, health care provider, or other person to
administer a test for the express purpose of determining the presence
of a contagious or infectious disease, except that testing may be
performed if the individual consents and if the requirements of this
section are satisfied.
5. This section does not preclude a hospital or a health care
provider from providing notification to a care provider under
circumstances in which the hospital's or health care provider's
policy provides for notification of the hospital's or health care
provider's own employees of exposure to a contagious or infectious
disease that is not life-threatening if the notice does not reveal a
patient's name, unless the patient consents.
6. A hospital, health care provider, or other person
participating in good faith in complying with provisions authorized
or required under this section is immune from any liability, civil or
criminal, which might otherwise be incurred or imposed.
7. A hospital's or health care provider's duty of notification
under this section is not continuing but is limited to a diagnosis of
a contagious or infectious disease made in the course of admission,
care, and treatment following the rendering of health care services
or other services to which notification under this section applies.
8. A hospital, health care provider, or other person who is
authorized to perform a test under this section who performs the test
in compliance with this section or who fails to perform the test
authorized under this section, is immune from any liability, civil or
criminal, which might otherwise be incurred or imposed.
9. A hospital, health care provider, or other person who is
authorized to perform a test under this section has no duty to
perform the test authorized.
10. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to
administer this section. The department may determine by rule the
contagious or infectious diseases for which testing is reasonable and
appropriate and which may be administered under this section.
11. The employer of a care provider who sustained an exposure
under this section shall pay the costs of testing for the individual
who is the source of the exposure and of the testing of the care
provider, if the exposure was sustained during the course of
employment. However, the department shall pay the costs of testing
for the individual who is the source of the significant exposure and
of the testing of the care provider who renders direct aid without
compensation. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §19; 2001 Acts, ch 157, §4
Care provider notification of HIV infections, see § 141A.8
139A.20 EXPOSING TO COMMUNICABLE DISEASE.
A person who knowingly exposes another to a communicable disease
or who knowingly subjects another to a child or other legally
incapacitated person who has contracted a communicable disease, with
the intent that another person contract the communicable disease,
shall be liable for all resulting damages and shall be punished as
provided in this chapter. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §20
139A.21 REPORTABLE POISONINGS AND ILLNESSES --
EMERGENCY INFORMATION SYSTEM.
1. If the results of an examination by a public, private, or
hospital clinical laboratory of a specimen from a person in Iowa
yield evidence of or are reactive for a reportable poisoning or a
reportable illness from a toxic agent, including methemoglobinemia,
the results shall be reported to the department on forms prescribed
by the department. If the laboratory is located in Iowa, the person
in charge of the laboratory shall report the results. If the
laboratory is not in Iowa, the health care provider submitting the
specimen shall report the results.
2. The health care provider attending a person infected with a
reportable poisoning or a reportable illness from a toxic agent,
including methemoglobinemia, shall immediately report the case to the
department. The department shall publish and distribute instructions
concerning the method of reporting. Reports shall be made in
accordance with rules adopted by the department.
3. A person in charge of a poison control information center
shall report to the department cases of reportable poisoning,
including methemoglobinemia, about which inquiries have been
received.
4. The department shall adopt rules designating reportable
poisonings, including methemoglobinemia, and illnesses which must be
reported under this section.
5. The department shall establish and maintain a central registry
to collect and store data reported pursuant to this section.
6. The department shall timely provide copies of all reports of
pesticide poisonings or illnesses received pursuant to this section
to the secretary of agriculture who shall timely forward these
reports and any reports of pesticide poisonings or illnesses received
pursuant to section 206.14 to the registrant of a pesticide which is
the subject of any reports.
7. The department shall adopt rules specifying the requirements
for the operation of an emergency information system operated by a
registrant pursuant to section 206.12, subsection 3, paragraph
"c", which shall not exceed requirements adopted by a poison
control center as defined in section 206.2. The rules shall specify
the qualifications of individuals staffing an emergency information
system and shall specify the maximum amount of time that a registrant
may take to provide the information to a poison control center or an
attending physician treating a patient exposed to the registrant's
product. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §21; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §49
Referred to in § 135.11, 206.12, 455E.11
139A.22 PREVENTION OF TRANSMISSION OF HIV OR HBV TO
PATIENTS.
1. A hospital shall adopt procedures requiring the establishment
of protocols applicable on a case-by-case basis to a health care
provider determined to be infected with HIV or HBV who ordinarily
performs exposure-prone procedures as determined by an expert review
panel, within the hospital setting. The protocols established shall
be in accordance with the recommendations issued by the centers for
disease control and prevention of the United States department of
health and human services. The expert review panel may be an
established committee of the hospital. The procedures may provide
for referral of the health care provider to the expert review panel
established by the department pursuant to subsection 3 for
establishment of the protocols. The procedures shall require
reporting noncompliance with the protocols by a health care provider
to the licensing board with jurisdiction over the relevant health
care providers.
2. A health care facility shall adopt procedures in accordance
with recommendations issued by the centers for disease control and
prevention of the United States department of health and human
services, applicable to a health care provider determined to be
infected with HIV or HBV who ordinarily performs or assists with
exposure-prone procedures within the health care facility. The
procedures shall require referral of the health care provider to the
expert review panel established by the department pursuant to
subsection 3.
3. The department shall establish an expert review panel to
determine on a case-by-case basis under what circumstances, if any, a
health care provider determined to be infected with HIV or HBV
practicing outside the hospital setting or referred to the panel by a
hospital or health care facility may perform exposure-prone
procedures. If a health care provider determined to be infected with
HIV or HBV does not comply with the determination of the expert
review panel, the panel shall report the noncompliance to the
licensing board with jurisdiction over the health care provider. A
determination of an expert review panel pursuant to this section is a
final agency action appealable pursuant to section 17A.19.
4. The health care provider determined to be infected with HIV or
HBV, who works in a hospital setting, may elect either the expert
review panel established by the hospital or the expert review panel
established by the department for the purpose of making a
determination of the circumstances under which the health care
provider may perform exposure-prone procedures.
5. A health care provider determined to be infected with HIV or
HBV shall not perform an exposure-prone procedure except as approved
by the expert review panel established by the department pursuant to
subsection 3, or in compliance with the protocol established by the
hospital pursuant to subsection 1 or the procedures established by
the health care facility pursuant to subsection 2.
6. The board of medicine, the board of physician assistants, the
board of podiatry, the board of nursing, the dental board, and the
board of optometry shall require that licensees comply with the
recommendations issued by the centers for disease control and
prevention of the United States department of health and human
services for preventing transmission of human immunodeficiency virus
and hepatitis B virus to patients during exposure-prone invasive
procedures, with the recommendations of the expert review panel
established pursuant to subsection 3, with hospital protocols
established pursuant to subsection 1, and with health care facility
procedures established pursuant to subsection 2, as applicable.
7. Information relating to the HIV status of a health care
provider is confidential and subject to the provisions of section
141A.9. A person who intentionally or recklessly makes an
unauthorized disclosure of such information is subject to a civil
penalty of one thousand dollars. The attorney general or the
attorney general's designee may maintain a civil action to enforce
this section. Proceedings maintained under this section shall
provide for the anonymity of the health care provider and all
documentation shall be maintained in a confidential manner.
Information relating to the HBV status of a health care provider is
confidential and shall not be accessible to the public. Information
regulated by this section, however, may be disclosed to members of
the expert review panel established by the department or a panel
established by hospital protocol under this section. The information
may also be disclosed to the appropriate licensing board by filing a
report as required by this section. The licensing board shall
consider the report a complaint subject to the confidentiality
provisions of section 272C.6. A licensee, upon the filing of a
formal charge or notice of hearing by the licensing board based on
such a complaint, may seek a protective order from the board.
8. The expert review panel established by the department and
individual members of the panel shall be immune from any liability,
civil or criminal, for reasonable actions taken in the good faith
performance of functions authorized or required by this section. A
hospital, an expert review panel established by the hospital, and
individual members of the panel shall be immune from any liability,
civil or criminal, for reasonable actions taken in the good faith
performance of functions authorized or required by this section.
Complaints, investigations, reports, deliberations, and findings of
the hospital and its panel with respect to a named health care
provider suspected, alleged, or found to be in violation of the
protocol required by this section constitute peer review records
under section 147.135, and are subject to the specific
confidentiality requirements and limitations of that section. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §22; 2001 Acts, ch 24, §30; 2007 Acts, ch 10,
§25; 2007 Acts, ch 218, §196
Referred to in § 139A.23
See § 139A.23
139A.23 CONTINGENT REPEAL.
If the provisions of Pub. L. No. 102-141 relating to requirements
for prevention of transmission of HIV or HBV to patients in the
performance of exposure-prone procedures are repealed, section
139A.22 is repealed. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §23
139A.24 BLOOD DONATION OR SALE -- PENALTY.
A person suffering from a communicable disease dangerous to the
public health who knowingly gives false information regarding the
person's infected state on a blood plasma sale application to blood
plasma-taking personnel commits a serious misdemeanor. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §24
139A.25 PENALTIES.
1. Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, a person who
knowingly violates any provision of this chapter, or of the rules of
the department or a local board, or any lawful order, written or
oral, of the department or board, or of their officers or authorized
agents, is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
2. Notwithstanding subsection 1, an individual who repeatedly
fails to file any mandatory report specified in this chapter is
subject to a report being made to the licensing board governing the
professional activities of the individual. The department shall
notify the individual each time that the department determines that
the individual has failed to file a required report. The department
shall inform the individual in the notification that the individual
may provide information to the department to explain or dispute the
failure to report.
3. Notwithstanding subsection 1, a public, private, or hospital
clinical laboratory that repeatedly fails to file a mandatory report
specified in this chapter is subject to a civil penalty of not more
than one thousand dollars per occurrence. The department shall not
impose the penalty under this subsection without prior written notice
and opportunity for hearing. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §25
Referred to in § 139A.40
139A.26 MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE VACCINATION INFORMATION
FOR POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS.
1. Each institution of higher education that has an on-campus
residence hall or dormitory shall provide vaccination information on
meningococcal disease to each student enrolled in the institution.
The vaccination information shall be contained on student health
forms provided to each student by the institution, which forms shall
include space for the student to indicate whether or not the student
has received the vaccination against meningococcal disease. The
vaccination information about meningococcal disease shall include any
recommendations issued by the national centers for disease control
and prevention regarding the disease. Vaccination information
obtained under this section that is in the possession of an
institution of higher education pursuant to this section shall not be
considered a public record. Data obtained under this section shall
be submitted annually to the department in a manner prescribed by the
department and such that no individual person can be identified.
2. This section shall not be construed to require any institution
of higher education to provide the vaccination against meningococcal
disease to students.
3. This section shall not apply if the national centers for
disease control and prevention no longer recommend the meningococcal
disease vaccine.
4. This section does not create a private right of action.
5. The department shall adopt rules for administration of this
section. The department shall review the requirements of this
section at least every five years, and shall submit its
recommendations for modification to, or continuation of, this section
based upon new information about the disease or vaccination against
the disease in a report that shall be submitted to the general
assembly no later than January 15, 2010, with subsequent reports
developed and submitted by January 15 at least every fifth year
thereafter. Section History: Recent Form
2004 Acts, ch 1023, §1
139A.27 THROUGH 139A.29 Reserved.
139A.30 CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS.
Reports to the department which include the identity of persons
infected with a sexually transmitted disease or infection, and all
such related information, records, and reports concerning the person,
shall be confidential and shall not be accessible to the public.
However, such reports, information, and records shall be confidential
only to the extent necessary to prevent identification of persons
named in such reports, information, and records; the other parts of
such reports, information, and records shall be public records. The
preceding sentence shall prevail over any inconsistent provision of
this subchapter. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §26; 2002 Acts, ch 1119, §134
Referred to in § 232.69
139A.31 REPORT TO DEPARTMENT.
Immediately after the first examination or treatment of any person
infected with any sexually transmitted disease or infection, the
health care provider who performed the examination or treatment shall
transmit to the department a report stating the name of the infected
person, the address of the infected person, the infected person's
date of birth, the sex of the infected person, the race and ethnicity
of the infected person, the infected person's marital status, the
infected person's telephone number, if the infected person is female,
whether the infected person is pregnant, the name and address of the
laboratory that performed the test, the date the test was found to be
positive and the collection date, and the name of the health care
provider who performed the test. However, when a case occurs within
the jurisdiction of a local health department, the report shall be
made directly to the local health department which shall immediately
forward the information to the department. Reports shall be made in
accordance with rules adopted by the department. Reports shall be
confidential. Any person filing a report of a sexually transmitted
disease or infection who is acting reasonably and in good faith is
immune from any liability, civil or criminal, which might otherwise
be incurred or imposed as a result of such report. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §27
139A.32 EXAMINATION RESULTS FROM LABORATORY --
REPORT.
A person in charge of a public, private, or hospital clinical
laboratory shall report to the department, on forms prescribed by the
department, results obtained in the examination of all specimens
which yield evidence of or are reactive for those diseases defined as
sexually transmitted diseases or infections, and listed in the Iowa
administrative code. The report shall state the name of the infected
person from whom the specimen was obtained, the address of the
infected person, the infected person's date of birth, the sex of the
infected person, the race and ethnicity of the infected person, the
infected person's marital status, the infected person's telephone
number, if the infected person is female, whether the infected person
is pregnant, the name and address of the laboratory that performed
the test, the laboratory results, the test employed, the date the
test was found to be positive and the collection date, the name of
the health care provider who performed the test, and the name and
address of the person submitting the specimen. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §28
139A.33 DETERMINATION OF SOURCE.
The local board or the department shall use every available means
to determine the source and spread of any infectious case of sexually
transmitted disease or infection which is reported. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §29
139A.34 EXAMINATION OF PERSONS SUSPECTED.
The local board shall cause an examination to be made of every
person reasonably suspected, on the basis of epidemiological
investigation, of having any sexually transmitted disease or
infection in the infectious stages to ascertain if such person is
infected and, if infected, to cause such person to be treated. A
person who is under the care and treatment of a health care provider
for the suspected condition shall not be subjected to such
examination. If a person suspected of having a sexually transmitted
disease or infection refuses to submit to an examination voluntarily,
application may be made by the local board to the district court for
an order compelling the person to submit to examination and, if
infected, to treatment. The person shall be treated until certified
as no longer infectious to the local board or to the department. If
treatment is ordered by the district court, the attending health care
provider shall certify that the person is no longer infectious. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §30
139A.35 MINORS.
A minor shall have the legal capacity to act and give consent to
provision of medical care or services to the minor for the
prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a sexually transmitted disease
or infection by a hospital, clinic, or health care provider. Such
medical care or services shall be provided by or under the
supervision of a physician licensed to practice medicine and surgery
or osteopathic medicine and surgery, a physician assistant, or an
advanced registered nurse practitioner. Consent shall not be subject
to later disaffirmance by reason of such minority. The consent of
another person, including but not limited to the consent of a spouse,
parent, custodian, or guardian, shall not be necessary. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §31; 2008 Acts, ch 1058, §11; 2008 Acts, ch
1088, §141
139A.36 CERTIFICATE NOT TO BE ISSUED.
A certificate of freedom from sexually transmitted disease or
infection shall not be issued to any person by any official health
agency. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §32
139A.37 PREGNANT WOMEN.
The department shall adopt rules which incorporate the prenatal
guidelines established by the centers for disease control and
prevention of the United States department of health and human
services as the state guidelines for prenatal testing and care
relative to infectious disease. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §33
139A.38 MEDICAL TREATMENT OF NEWLY BORN.
A physician attending the birth of a child shall cause to be
instilled into the eyes of the newly born infant a prophylactic
solution approved by the department. This section shall not be
construed to require treatment of the infant's eyes with a
prophylactic solution if the infant's parent or legal guardian states
that such treatment conflicts with the tenets and practices of a
recognized religious denomination of which the parent or legal
guardian is an adherent or member. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §34
139A.39 RELIGIOUS EXCEPTIONS.
A provision of this chapter shall not be construed to require or
compel any person to take or follow a course of medical treatment
prescribed by law or a health care provider if the person is an
adherent or member of a church or religious denomination and in
accordance with the tenets or principles of the person's church or
religious denomination the person opposes the specific course of
medical treatment. However, such person while in an infectious stage
of disease shall be subject to isolation and such other measures
appropriate for the prevention of the spread of the disease to other
persons. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §35
139A.40 FILING FALSE REPORTS.
A person who knowingly makes a false statement in any of the
reports required by this subchapter concerning persons infected with
any sexually transmitted disease or infection, or who discloses the
identity of such person, except as authorized by this subchapter,
shall be punished as provided in section 139A.25. Section History: Recent Form
2000 Acts, ch 1066, §36
139A.41 CHLAMYDIA AND GONORRHEA TREATMENT.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a
physician, physician assistant, or advanced registered nurse
practitioner who diagnoses a sexually transmitted chlamydia or
gonorrhea infection in an individual patient may prescribe, dispense,
furnish, or otherwise provide prescription oral antibiotic drugs to
that patient's sexual partner or partners without examination of that
patient's partner or partners. If the infected individual patient is
unwilling or unable to deliver such prescription drugs to a sexual
partner or partners, a physician, physician assistant, or advanced
registered nurse practitioner may dispense, furnish, or otherwise
provide the prescription drugs to the department or local disease
prevention investigation staff for delivery to the partner or
partners. Section History: Recent Form
2008 Acts, ch 1058, §12