1. A person possessing information regulated by this chapter shall not disclose the identity of any other person upon whom an HIV-related test is performed or the results of such a test in a manner which would permit identification of another person and a person shall not be compelled to disclose the identity of any person upon whom an HIV-related test is performed, or the results of the test in a manner which permits identification of the subject of the test, except to any of the following persons:
a. The subject of the test or the subject's legal guardian subject to the provisions of section 141.22, subsection 6, when applicable.
b. Any person who secures a written release of test results executed by the subject of the test or the subject's legal guardian.
c. An authorized agent or employee of a health facility or health care provider if the health facility or health care provider ordered or participated in the testing or is otherwise authorized to obtain the test results, the agent or employee provides patient care or handles or processes specimens of body fluids or tissues, and the agent or employee has a medical need to know such information.
d. Licensed medical personnel providing care to the subject of the test, when knowledge of the test results is necessary to provide care or treatment.
e. The department in accordance with reporting requirements for an HIV-related condition.
f. A health facility or health care provider which procures, processes, distributes, or uses a human body part from a deceased person with respect to medical information regarding that person, or semen provided prior to July 1, 1988, for the purpose of artificial insemination.
g. A person allowed access to a record by a court order which is issued in compliance with the following provisions:
(1) There is a court finding that the person seeking the test results has demonstrated a compelling need for the test results which cannot be accommodated by other means. In assessing compelling need, the court shall weigh the need for disclosure against the privacy interest of the test subject and the public interest which may be disserved by disclosure due to its deterrent effect on future testing or due to its effect in leading to discrimination.
(2) Pleadings pertaining to disclosure of test results shall substitute a pseudonym for the true name of the subject of the test. The disclosure to the parties of the subject's true name shall be communicated confidentially, in documents not filed with the court.
(3) Before granting an order, the court shall provide the person whose test results are in question with notice and a reasonable opportunity to participate in the proceedings if the person is not already a party.
(4) Court proceedings as to disclosure of test results shall be conducted in camera unless the subject of the test agrees to a hearing in open court or unless the court determines that a public hearing is necessary to the public interest and the proper administration of justice.
(5) Upon the issuance of an order to disclose test results, the court shall impose appropriate safeguards against unauthorized disclosure, which shall specify the persons who may gain access to the information, the purposes for which the information shall be used, and appropriate prohibitions on future disclosure.
h. An employer, if the test is authorized to be required under any other provision of law.
i. The convicted offender, the physician or other practitioner who orders the test of the convicted offender, the victim, the parent, guardian, or custodian of the victim if the victim is a minor, the physician of the victim, the victim counselor or person requested by the victim who is authorized to provide the counseling required pursuant to section 141.22, and the victim's spouse, persons with whom the victim has engaged in vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse subsequent to the sexual assault, or members of the victim's family within the third degree of consanguinity.
j. Employees of state correctional institutions subject to the jurisdiction of the department of corrections, employees of secure facilities for juveniles subject to the department of human services, and employees of city and county jails, if the employees have direct supervision over inmates of those facilities or institutions, in the exercise of the duties prescribed pursuant to section 80.9, subsection 2, paragraph "d".
2. A person to whom the results of an HIV-related test have been disclosed pursuant to subsection 1 shall not disclose the test results to another person except as authorized by subsection 1, or by a court order issued pursuant to subsection 1.
3. If disclosure is made pursuant to this section, the disclosure shall be accompanied by a statement in writing which includes the following or substantially similar language: "This information has been disclosed to you from records whose confidentiality is protected by state law. State law prohibits you from making any further disclosure of the information without the specific written consent of the person to whom it pertains, or as otherwise permitted by law. A general authorization for the release of medical or other information is not sufficient for this purpose." An oral disclosure shall be accompanied or followed by such a notice within ten days.
88 Acts, ch 1234, §3; 93 Acts, ch 140, § 5; 94 Acts, ch 1023, §87; 94 Acts, ch 1154, §3
Referred to in § 139C.2, 141.6, 141.22A, 321.186, 505.16, 709B.3
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1995
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