25 Tex. Admin. Code § 97.2 - Who Shall Report
(a) A physician,
dentist, veterinarian, chiropractor, advanced practice nurse, physician
assistant, or person permitted by law to attend a pregnant woman during
gestation or at the delivery of an infant shall report, as required by these
sections, each patient (person or animal) he or she shall examine and who has
or is suspected of having any notifiable condition, and shall report any
outbreak, exotic disease, or unusual group expression of illness of any kind
whether or not the disease is known to be communicable or reportable. An
employee from the clinic or office staff may be designated to serve as the
reporting officer. A physician, dentist, veterinarian, advanced practice nurse,
physician assistant, or chiropractor who can assure that a designated or
appointed person from the clinic or office is regularly reporting every
occurrence of these diseases or health conditions in their clinic or office
does not have to submit a duplicate report.
(b) The chief administrative officer of a
hospital shall appoint one reporting officer who shall be responsible for
reporting each patient who is medically attended at the facility and who has or
is suspected of having any notifiable condition. Hospital laboratories may
report through the reporting officer or independently in accordance with the
hospital's policies and procedures.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (b) of
this section, any person who is in charge of a clinical laboratory, blood bank,
mobile unit, or other facility in which a laboratory examination of any
specimen derived from a human body yields microscopic, bacteriologic,
virologic, parasitologic, serologic, or other evidence of a notifiable
condition, shall report as required by this section.
(d) School authorities, including a
superintendent, principal, teacher, school health official, or counselor of a
public or private school and the administrator or health official of a public
or private institution of higher learning should report as required by these
sections those students attending school who are suspected of having a
notifiable condition. School administrators who are not medical directors
meeting the criteria described in §
97.132 of this title (relating to
Who Shall Report Sexually Transmitted Diseases) are exempt from reporting
sexually transmitted diseases.
(e)
Any person having knowledge that a person(s) or animal(s) is suspected of
having a notifiable condition should notify the local health authority or the
department and provide all information known to them concerning the illness and
physical condition of such person(s) or animal(s).
(f) Sexually transmitted diseases including
HIV and AIDS shall be reported in accordance with Subchapter F of this chapter
(relating to Sexually Transmitted Diseases Including Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)).
(g) Failure to report a notifiable condition
is a Class B misdemeanor under the Texas Health and Safety Code, §
81.049.
(h) The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) allows reporting without authorization for public
health purposes and where required by law. Title 45 Code of Federal Regulations
§164.512(a) and (b).
Notes
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