2007 California Health and Safety Code Chapter 3. Disorders Characterized By Lapses Of Consciousness

CA Codes (hsc:103900)

103900.  (a) Every physician and surgeon shall report immediately to
the local health officer in writing, the name, date of birth, and
address of every patient at least 14 years of age or older whom the
physician and surgeon has diagnosed as having a case of a disorder
characterized by lapses of consciousness.  However, if a physician
and surgeon reasonably and in good faith believes that the reporting
of a patient will serve the public interest, he or she may report a
patient's condition even if it may not be required under the
department's definition of disorders characterized by lapses of
consciousness pursuant to subdivision (d).
   (b) The local health officer shall report in writing to the
Department of Motor Vehicles the name, age, and address, of every
person reported to it as a case of a disorder characterized by lapses
of consciousness.
   (c) These reports shall be for the information of the  Department
of Motor Vehicles in enforcing the Vehicle Code, and shall be kept
confidential and used solely for the purpose of determining the
eligibility of any person to operate a motor vehicle on the highways
of this state.
   (d) The department, in cooperation with the Department of Motor
Vehicles, shall define disorders characterized by lapses of
consciousness based upon existing clinical standards for that
definition for purposes of this section and shall include Alzheimer's
disease and those related disorders that are severe enough to be
likely to impair a person's ability to operate a motor vehicle in the
definition.  The department, in cooperation with the Department of
Motor Vehicles, shall list those circumstances that shall not require
reporting pursuant to subdivision (a) because the patient is unable
to ever operate a motor vehicle or is otherwise unlikely to represent
a danger that requires reporting.  The department shall consult with
professional medical organizations whose members have specific
expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of those disorders in the
development of the definition of what constitutes a disorder
characterized by lapses of consciousness as well as definitions of
functional severity to guide reporting so that diagnosed cases
reported pursuant to this section are only those where there is
reason to believe that the patients' conditions are likely to impair
their ability  to operate a motor vehicle.  The department shall
complete the definition on or before January 1, 1992.
   (e) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall, in consultation with
the professional medical organizations specified in subdivision (d),
develop guidelines designed to enhance the monitoring of patients
affected with disorders specified in this section in order to assist
with the patients' compliance with restrictions imposed by the
Department of Motor Vehicles on the patients' licenses to operate  a
motor vehicle.  The guidelines shall be completed on or before
January 1, 1992.
   (f) A physician and surgeon who reports a patient diagnosed as a
case of a disorder characterized by lapses of consciousness pursuant
to this section shall not be civilly or criminally liable to any
patient for making any report required or authorized by this section.