SENATE BILL No. 211 An Act concerning disease reporting; amending K.S.A. 65-118 and repealing the existing section. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

    Section 1. K.S.A. 65-118 is hereby amended to read as follows: 65-
118. (a) Whenever any person licensed to practice the healing arts or
engaged in a postgraduate training program approved by the state board
of healing arts, licensed dentist, physician's assistant whose name has been
entered on the register of physicians' assistants by the state board of
healing arts, licensed professional nurse, licensed practical nurse, admin-
istrator of a hospital, licensed adult care home administrator, licensed
social worker, teacher or school administrator knows or has information
indicating that a person is suffering from or has died from an a reportable
infectious or contagious disease as defined in rules and regulations, such
knowledge or information shall be reported immediately to the county or
joint board of health or the local health officer, together with the name
and address of the person who has or is suspected of having the infectious
or contagious disease, or the name and former address of the deceased
individual who had or was suspected of having such a disease. In the case
of a licensed hospital or adult care home, the administrator may designate
an individual to receive and make such reports. The secretary of health
and environment shall, through rules and regulations, make provision for
the consolidation of reports required to be made under this section when
the person required to make the report is working in a licensed hospital
or adult care home. Laboratories certified under the federal clinical lab-
oratories improvement act pursuant to 42 code of federal regulations, 493
shall report the results of microbiologic cultures, examinations, immuno-
logic essays for the presence of antigens and antibodies and any other
laboratory tests which are indicative of the presence of a reportable in-
fectious or contagious disease to the department of health and environ-
ment. The director of the division of health may use information from
death certificates for disease investigation purposes.

    (b) Any person who is an individual member of a class of persons
designated under subsection (a) of this section and who reports the in-
formation required to be reported under such subsection in good faith
and without malice to a county or joint board of health or, a local health
officer or the department of health and environment shall have immunity
from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or
imposed in an action resulting from such report. Any such person shall
have the same immunity with respect to participation in any judicial pro-
ceeding resulting from such report.

    (c) Information required to be reported under subsection (a) of this
section shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed or made public,
upon subpoena or otherwise, beyond the requirements of subsection (a)
of this section or subsection (a) of K.S.A. 65-119, except such information
may be disclosed: (1) If no person can be identified in the information to
be disclosed and the disclosure is for statistical purposes;

    (2) if all persons who are identifiable in the information to be dis-
closed consent in writing to its disclosure;

    (3) if the disclosure is necessary, and only to the extent necessary, to
protect the public health;

    (4) if a medical emergency exists and the disclosure is to medical
personnel qualified to treat infectious or contagious diseases. Any infor-
mation disclosed pursuant to this paragraph shall be disclosed only to the
extent necessary to protect the health or life of a named party; or

    (5) if the information to be disclosed is required in a court proceeding
involving child abuse and the information is disclosed in camera.

    Sec. 2. K.S.A. 65-118 is hereby repealed.

    Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the Kansas register.

I hereby certifiy that the above Bill originated in the
Senate, and passed that body

__________________________________

__________________________________

President of the Senate.

__________________________________

Secretary of the Senate.

Passed the House __________________________

__________________________________

Speaker of the House.

__________________________________

Chief Clerk of the House.

Approved__________________________________

__________________________________

Governor.