2011 California Code
Health and Safety Code
DIVISION 105. COMMUNICABLE DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL [120100 - 122420]
CHAPTER 8. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Public Health Records Confidentiality Act
Section 121025

(a) Public health records relating to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), containing personally identifying information, that were developed or acquired by a state or local public health agency, or an agent of that agency, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except as otherwise provided by law for public health purposes or pursuant to a written authorization by the person who is the subject of the record or by his or her guardian or conservator.

(b) In accordance with subdivision (g) of Section 121022, a state or local public health agency, or an agent of that agency, may disclose personally identifying information in public health records, as described in subdivision (a), to other local, state, or federal public health agencies or to corroborating medical researchers, when the confidential information is necessary to carry out the duties of the agency or researcher in the investigation, control, or surveillance of disease, as determined by the state or local public health agency.

(c) Except as provided in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, any disclosure authorized by subdivision (a) or (b) shall include only the information necessary for the purpose of that disclosure and shall be made only upon agreement that the information will be kept confidential and will not be further disclosed without written authorization, as described in subdivision (a).

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the following disclosures shall be authorized for the purpose of enhancing completeness of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted disease coinfection reporting to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

(A) The local public health agency HIV surveillance staff may further disclose the information to the health care provider who provides HIV care to the HIV-positive person who is the subject of the record for the purpose of assisting in compliance with subdivision (a) of Section 121022.

(B) Local public health agency tuberculosis control staff may further disclose the information to state public health agency tuberculosis control staff, who may further disclose the information, without disclosing patient identifying information, to the CDC, to the extent the information is requested by the CDC and permitted by subdivision (b), for purposes of the investigation, control, or surveillance of HIV and tuberculosis coinfections.

(C) Local public health agency sexually transmitted disease control staff may further disclose the information to state public health agency sexually transmitted disease control staff, who may further disclose the information, without disclosing patient identifying information, to the CDC, to the extent it is requested by the CDC, and permitted by subdivision (b), for the purposes of the investigation, control, or surveillance of HIV and syphilis, gonorrhea, or chlamydia coinfection.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the following disclosures shall be authorized for the purpose of facilitating appropriate HIV/AIDS medical care and treatment:

(A) State public health agency HIV surveillance staff, AIDS Drug Assistance Program staff, and care services staff may further disclose the information to local public health agency staff, who may further disclose the information to the HIV-positive person who is the subject of the record, or the health care provider who provides his or her HIV care, for the purpose of proactively offering and coordinating care and treatment services to him or her.

(B) AIDS Drug Assistance Program staff and care services staff in the State Department of Public Health may further disclose the information directly to the HIV-positive person who is the subject of the record or the health care provider who provides his or her HIV care, for the purpose of proactively offering and coordinating care and treatment services to him or her.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the purpose of facilitating appropriate medical care and treatment of persons coinfected with HIV, tuberculosis, and syphilis, gonorrhea, or chlamydia, local public health agency sexually transmitted disease control and tuberculosis control staff may further disclose the information to state or local public health agency sexually transmitted disease control and tuberculosis control staff, the HIV-positive person who is the subject of the record, or the health care provider who provides his or her HIV, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted disease care.

(4) For the purposes of paragraphs (2) and (3), staff does not include nongovernmental entities.

(d) No confidential public health record, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 121035, shall be disclosed, discoverable, or compelled to be produced in any civil, criminal, administrative, or other proceeding.

(e) (1) A person who negligently discloses the content of a confidential public health record, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 121035, to any third party, except pursuant to a written authorization, as described in subdivision (a), or as otherwise authorized by law, shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), plus court costs, as determined by the court, which penalty and costs shall be paid to the person whose record was disclosed.

(2) Any person who willfully or maliciously discloses the content of any confidential public health record, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 121035, to any third party, except pursuant to a written authorization, or as otherwise authorized by law, shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) and not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), plus court costs, as determined by the court, which penalty and costs shall be paid to the person whose confidential public health record was disclosed.

(3) Any person who willfully, maliciously, or negligently discloses the content of any confidential public health record, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 121035, to any third party, except pursuant to a written authorization, or as otherwise authorized by law, that results in economic, bodily, or psychological harm to the person whose confidential public health record was disclosed, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, or a fine of not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or both, plus court costs, as determined by the court, which penalty and costs shall be paid to the person whose confidential public health record was disclosed.

(4) Any person who commits any act described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3), shall be liable to the person whose confidential public health record was disclosed for all actual damages for economic, bodily, or psychological harm that is a proximate result of the act.

(5) Each violation of this section is a separate and actionable offense.

(6) Nothing in this section limits or expands the right of an injured person whose confidential public health record was disclosed to recover damages under any other applicable law.

(f) In the event that a confidential public health record, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 121035, is disclosed, the information shall not be used to determine employability, or insurability of any person.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 296, Sec. 179. Effective January 1, 2012.)