2009 Iowa Code
Title 4 - Public Health
Subtitle 2 - Health-Related Activities
CHAPTER 144 - VITAL STATISTICS
144.29A - TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY REPORTING.

        144.29A  TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY REPORTING.
         1.  A health care provider who initially identifies and diagnoses
      a spontaneous termination of pregnancy or who induces a termination
      of pregnancy shall file with the department a report for each
      termination within thirty days of the occurrence.  The health care
      provider shall make a good faith effort to obtain all of the
      following information that is available with respect to each
      termination:
         a.  The confidential health care provider code as assigned by
      the department.
         b.  The report tracking number.
         c.  The maternal health services region of the Iowa department
      of public health, as designated as of July 1, 1997, in which the
      patient resides.
         d.  The race of the patient.
         e.  The age of the patient.
         f.  The marital status of the patient.
         g.  The educational level of the patient.
         h.  The number of previous pregnancies, live births, and
      spontaneous or induced terminations of pregnancies.
         i.  The month and year in which the termination occurred.
         j.  The number of weeks since the patient's last menstrual
      period and a clinical estimate of gestation.
         k.  The method used for an induced termination, including
      whether mifepristone was used.
         2.  It is the intent of the general assembly that the information
      shall be collected, reproduced, released, and disclosed in a manner
      specified by rule of the department, adopted pursuant to chapter 17A,
      which ensures the anonymity of the patient who experiences a
      termination of pregnancy, the health care provider who identifies and
      diagnoses or induces a termination of pregnancy, and the hospital,
      clinic, or other health facility in which a termination of pregnancy
      is identified and diagnosed or induced.  The department may share
      information with federal public health officials for the purposes of
      securing federal funding or conducting public health research.
      However, in sharing the information, the department shall not
      relinquish control of the information, and any agreement entered into
      by the department with federal public health officials to share
      information shall prohibit the use, reproduction, release, or
      disclosure of the information by federal public health officials in a
      manner which violates this section.  The department shall publish,
      annually, a demographic summary of the information obtained pursuant
      to this section, except that the department shall not reproduce,
      release, or disclose any information obtained pursuant to this
      section which reveals the identity of any patient, health care
      provider, hospital, clinic, or other health facility, and shall
      ensure anonymity in the following ways:
         a.  The department may use information concerning the report
      tracking number or concerning the identity of a reporting health care
      provider, hospital, clinic, or other health facility only for
      purposes of information collection.  The department shall not
      reproduce, release, or disclose this information for any purpose
      other than for use in annually publishing the demographic summary
      under this section.
         b.  The department shall enter the information, from any
      report of termination submitted, within thirty days of receipt of the
      report, and shall immediately destroy the report following entry of
      the information.  However, entry of the information from a report
      shall not include any health care provider, hospital, clinic, or
      other health facility identification information including, but not
      limited to, the confidential health care provider code, as assigned
      by the department.
         c.  To protect confidentiality, the department shall limit
      release of information to release in an aggregate form which prevents
      identification of any individual patient, health care provider,
      hospital, clinic, or other health facility.  For the purposes of this
      paragraph, "aggregate form" means a compilation of the
      information received by the department on termination of pregnancies
      for each information item listed, with the exceptions of the report
      tracking number, the health care provider code, and any set of
      information for which the amount is so small that the confidentiality
      of any person to whom the information relates may be compromised.
      The department shall establish a methodology to provide a
      statistically verifiable basis for any determination of the correct
      amount at which information may be released so that the
      confidentiality of any person is not compromised.
         3.  Except as specified in subsection 2, reports, information, and
      records submitted and maintained pursuant to this section are
      strictly confidential and shall not be released or made public upon
      subpoena, search warrant, discovery proceedings, or by any other
      means.
         4.  The department shall assign a code to any health care provider
      who may be required to report a termination under this section.  An
      application procedure shall not be required for assignment of a code
      to a health care provider.
         5.  A health care provider shall assign a report tracking number
      which enables the health care provider to access the patient's
      medical information without identifying the patient.
         6.  To ensure proper performance of the reporting requirements
      under this section, it is preferred that a health care provider who
      practices within a hospital, clinic, or other health facility
      authorize one staff person to fulfill the reporting requirements.
         7.  For the purposes of this section, "health care provider"
      means an individual licensed under chapter 148, 148C, 148D, or 152,
      or any individual who provides medical services under the
      authorization of the licensee.
         8.  For the purposes of this section, "inducing a termination of
      pregnancy" means the use of any means to terminate the pregnancy of
      a woman known to be pregnant with the intent other than to produce a
      live birth or to remove a dead fetus.
         9.  For the purposes of this section, "spontaneous termination
      of pregnancy" means the occurrence of an unintended termination of
      pregnancy at any time during the period from conception to twenty
      weeks gestation and which is not a spontaneous termination of
      pregnancy at any time during the period from twenty weeks or greater
      which is reported to the department as a fetal death under this
      chapter.  

         97 Acts, ch 172, §1; 2003 Acts, ch 42, §1; 2008 Acts, ch 1088, §94

         Referred to in § 144.52, 331.611