Vermont § 1001 - Reports to Commissioner of Health

§ 1001. Reports to Commissioner of Health

• (a) When a physician, health care provider, nurse practitioner, nurse, physician assistant,
  or school health official has reason to believe that a person is sick or has died
  of a diagnosed or suspected disease, identified by the Department of Health as a reportable
  disease and dangerous to the public health, or if a laboratory director has evidence
  of such sickness or disease, he or she shall transmit within 24 hours a report thereof
  and identify the name and address of the patient and the name of the patient’s physician
  to the Commissioner of Health or designee. In the case of the human immunodeficiency
  virus (HIV), “reason to believe” shall mean personal knowledge of a positive HIV test
  result. The Commissioner, with the approval of the Secretary of Human Services, shall
  by rule establish a list of those diseases dangerous to the public health that shall
  be reportable. Nonmedical community-based organizations shall be exempt from this
  reporting requirement. All information collected pursuant to this section and in support
  of investigations and studies undertaken by the Commissioner for the purpose of determining
  the nature or cause of any disease outbreak shall be privileged and confidential.
  The Department of Health shall, by rule, require that any person required to report
  under this section has in place a procedure that ensures confidentiality. (b) Public health records developed or acquired by State or local public health agencies
  that relate to HIV or AIDS and that contain either personally identifying information
  or information that may indirectly identify a person shall be confidential and only
  disclosed following notice to and written authorization from the individual subject
  of the public health record or the individual’s legal representative. Notice otherwise
  required pursuant to this section shall not be required for disclosures to the federal
  government; other departments, agencies, or programs of the State; or other states’
  infectious disease surveillance programs if the disclosure is for the purpose of comparing
  the details of potentially duplicative case reports, public health surveillance, or
  epidemiological follow-up, provided the information shall be shared using the least
  identifying information first so that the individual’s name shall be used only as
  a last resort. (c) [Repealed.] (d) A confidential public health record, including any information obtained pursuant to
  this section, shall not be: (1) disclosed or discoverable in any civil, criminal, administrative, or other proceeding; (2) used to determine issues relating to employment or insurance for any individual; (3) used for any purpose other than public health surveillance, and epidemiological follow-up. (e) Any person who: (1) Willfully or maliciously discloses the content of any confidential public health record
  without written authorization or other than as authorized by law or in violation of
  subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of
  not less than $10,000.00 and not more than $25,000.00, costs and attorney’s fees as
  determined by the court, compensatory and punitive damages, or equitable relief, including
  restraint of prohibited acts, costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, and other appropriate
  relief. (2) Negligently discloses the content of any confidential public health record without
  written authorization or other than as authorized by law or in violation of subsection
  (b), (c), or (d) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount
  not to exceed $2,500.00 plus court costs, as determined by the court, which penalty
  and costs shall be paid to the subject of the confidential information. (3) Willfully, maliciously, or negligently discloses the results of an HIV test to a third
  party in a manner that identifies or provides identifying characteristics of the person
  to whom the test results apply without written authorization or other than as authorized
  by law or in violation of subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this section and that results
  in economic, bodily, or psychological harm to the subject of the test is guilty of
  a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed one year or a
  fine not to exceed $25,000.00, or both. (4) Commits any act described in subdivision (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection shall
  be liable to the subject for all actual damages, including damages for any economic,
  bodily, or psychological harm that is a proximate result of the act. Each disclosure
  made in violation of this chapter is a separate and actionable offense. Nothing in
  this section shall limit or expand the right of an injured subject to recover damages
  under any other applicable law. (f) [Repealed.] (g) Health care providers must, prior to performing an HIV test, inform the individual
  to be tested that a positive result will require reporting of the result and the individual’s
  name to the Department, and that there are testing sites that provide anonymous testing
  that are not required to report positive results. The Department shall develop and
  make widely available a model notification form. (h) Nothing in this section shall affect the ongoing availability of anonymous testing
  for HIV. Anonymous HIV testing results shall not be required to be reported under
  this section. (i) The Department shall annually evaluate the systems and confidentiality procedures
  developed to implement networked and non-networked electronic reporting, including
  system breaches and penalties for disclosure to State personnel. The Department shall
  provide the results of this evaluation to and solicit input from the Vermont HIV/AIDS
  Community Advisory Group. (j) The Department shall collaborate with community-based organizations to educate the
  public and health care providers about the benefits of HIV testing and the use of
  current testing technologies. (k) The Commissioner shall maintain a separate database of reports received pursuant to
  subsection 1141(i) of this title for the purpose of tracking the number of tests performed pursuant to chapter 21,
  subchapter 5 of this title and other information as the Department of Health finds
  necessary and appropriate. The database shall not include any information that personally
  identifies a patient. (Amended 1979, No. 60, § 1; 1997, No. 7, § 1, eff. April 29, 1997; 1999, No. 17, § 2; 2007, No. 73, § 2; eff. April 1, 2008; 2007, No. 194 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2009, No. 81 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 20, 2010; 2013, No. 34, § 30a; 2015, No. 37, § 2; 2023, No. 87 (Adj. Sess.), § 75, eff. March 13, 2024.)