Iowa Admin. Code r. 641-11.11 - Care provider notification upon exposure to contagious or infectious diseases-exposures in nonclinical settings
(1) If a care
provider sustains a significant exposure from a patient while rendering health
care or other services, other than home-health or respite care services ,
outside of a health care facility or hospital , the care provider shall file a
significant exposure report as soon as reasonably possible following the
exposure . When the exposure occurred outside a clinical setting, a care
provider who has sustained a significant exposure should file this report with
the infection control, occupational health, or other designated office of the
facility to which the patient was transported.
(2) The source patient to whom the care
provider was exposed is deemed to consent to a test to determine if the patient
has a contagious or infectious disease and is deemed to consent to notification
of the care provider or the designated representative of the results of the
test , upon submission of a significant exposure report and certification of the
significant exposure by an authorized infection preventionist, occupational
health professional, or other professional trained in infectious disease
control. No further consent from the source patient is required. However, as
soon as is practicable, the source patient shall be notified that an exposure
has occurred and shall be told which specific tests have been performed to
determine the presence of contagious or infectious diseases. If the source
patient is a minor , the minor shall be informed that, upon positive
confirmation of an HIV-related test result, the minor 's legal guardian shall be
informed of the positive result pursuant to Iowa Code section
141A.7(3).
(3) Hospitals, clinics, or other health care
facilities; institutions administered by the department of corrections ; and
jails shall have written policies and procedures pursuant to Iowa Code section
139A.19. In addition to those
policies and procedures required by Iowa Code section
139A.19, hospitals, clinics, or
other health care facilities; institutions administered by the department of
corrections ; and jails shall have written policies and procedures for reviewing
and certifying significant exposure report forms, testing a source patient , and
notifying a care provider who sustained a significant exposure while rendering
health care services or other services to the source patient when the source
patient is delivered to the facility and the exposure occurred prior to the
delivery.
(4) The hospital , clinic,
or other health care facility to whom the source patient is delivered shall
conduct the test . If the source patient is delivered to an institution
administered by the department of corrections , the test shall be conducted by
the staff physician of the institution. If the source patient is delivered to a
jail, the test shall be conducted by the attending physician of the jail or the
county medical examiner. If the source patient was deemed to consent upon
certification of a significant exposure report , the sample and test results
shall only be identified by a number.
(5) If a test result is positive, the
hospital , clinic, or other health care facility , or other person performing the
test shall notify the source patient and make any required reports to the
department pursuant to Iowa Code sections
139A.3 and
141A.6. The report to the
department shall include the name of the source patient .
(6) If a source patient is diagnosed or
confirmed as having a contagious or infectious disease , the hospital , clinic,
or other health care facility , or other person performing the test shall notify
the care provider or the designated representative of the care provider who
shall then notify the care provider . If the source patient is a minor and is
diagnosed with HIV infection , the hospital , clinic, or other health facility ,
or other person performing the test shall notify the legal guardian of the
minor .
(7) The notification shall
advise the care provider of possible exposure to a particular contagious or
infectious disease and recommend that the provider seek medical attention. The
notification shall be provided as soon as reasonably possible following
determination that the source patient has a contagious or infectious disease .
The notification shall not include the name of the source patient unless the
patient consents. If the care provider who sustained a significant exposure
determines the identity of a source patient who has been diagnosed or confirmed
as having a contagious or infectious disease , the identity of the source
patient 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 source patient .
(8) This
rule does not preclude a hospital , clinic, other health care facility , or a
health care provider from providing notification to a care provider under
circumstances in which the hospital 's, clinic's, other health care facility 's,
or health care provider 's policy provides for notification of the hospital 's,
clinic's, other health care facility '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 source patient 's name, unless the patient
consents.
(9) The infection
control, occupational health, or other designated office of the facility shall
maintain a record of all significant exposure reports it receives and shall
retain each report for a period of five years.
(10) The significant exposure report form is
a confidential record pursuant to Iowa Code section
141A.9.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.