§ 1001. Reports to Commissioner of Health
(a) When a physician, health care provider, nurse practitioner, nurse, physician assistant,
or school health official has reason to believe that a person is sick or has died
of a diagnosed or suspected disease, identified by the Department of Health as a reportable
disease and dangerous to the public health, or if a laboratory director has evidence
of such sickness or disease, he or she shall transmit within 24 hours a report thereof
and identify the name and address of the patient and the name of the patient’s physician
to the Commissioner of Health or designee. In the case of the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV), “reason to believe” shall mean personal knowledge of a positive HIV test
result. The Commissioner, with the approval of the Secretary of Human Services, shall
by rule establish a list of those diseases dangerous to the public health that shall
be reportable. Nonmedical community-based organizations shall be exempt from this
reporting requirement. All information collected pursuant to this section and in support
of investigations and studies undertaken by the Commissioner for the purpose of determining
the nature or cause of any disease outbreak shall be privileged and confidential.
The Department of Health shall, by rule, require that any person required to report
under this section has in place a procedure that ensures confidentiality.
(b) Public health records developed or acquired by State or local public health agencies
that relate to HIV or AIDS and that contain either personally identifying information
or information that may indirectly identify a person shall be confidential and only
disclosed following notice to and written authorization from the individual subject
of the public health record or the individual’s legal representative. Notice otherwise
required pursuant to this section shall not be required for disclosures to the federal
government; other departments, agencies, or programs of the State; or other states’
infectious disease surveillance programs if the disclosure is for the purpose of comparing
the details of potentially duplicative case reports, public health surveillance, or
epidemiological follow-up, provided the information shall be shared using the least
identifying information first so that the individual’s name shall be used only as
a last resort.
(c) [Repealed.]
(d) A confidential public health record, including any information obtained pursuant to
this section, shall not be:
(1) disclosed or discoverable in any civil, criminal, administrative, or other proceeding;
(2) used to determine issues relating to employment or insurance for any individual;
(3) used for any purpose other than public health surveillance, and epidemiological follow-up.
(e) Any person who:
(1) Willfully or maliciously discloses the content of any confidential public health record
without written authorization or other than as authorized by law or in violation of
subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of
not less than $10,000.00 and not more than $25,000.00, costs and attorney’s fees as
determined by the court, compensatory and punitive damages, or equitable relief, including
restraint of prohibited acts, costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, and other appropriate
relief.
(2) Negligently discloses the content of any confidential public health record without
written authorization or other than as authorized by law or in violation of subsection
(b), (c), or (d) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount
not to exceed $2,500.00 plus court costs, as determined by the court, which penalty
and costs shall be paid to the subject of the confidential information.
(3) Willfully, maliciously, or negligently discloses the results of an HIV test to a third
party in a manner that identifies or provides identifying characteristics of the person
to whom the test results apply without written authorization or other than as authorized
by law or in violation of subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this section and that results
in economic, bodily, or psychological harm to the subject of the test is guilty of
a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed one year or a
fine not to exceed $25,000.00, or both.
(4) Commits any act described in subdivision (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection shall
be liable to the subject for all actual damages, including damages for any economic,
bodily, or psychological harm that is a proximate result of the act. Each disclosure
made in violation of this chapter is a separate and actionable offense. Nothing in
this section shall limit or expand the right of an injured subject to recover damages
under any other applicable law.
(f) [Repealed.]
(g) Health care providers must, prior to performing an HIV test, inform the individual
to be tested that a positive result will require reporting of the result and the individual’s
name to the Department, and that there are testing sites that provide anonymous testing
that are not required to report positive results. The Department shall develop and
make widely available a model notification form.
(h) Nothing in this section shall affect the ongoing availability of anonymous testing
for HIV. Anonymous HIV testing results shall not be required to be reported under
this section.
(i) The Department shall annually evaluate the systems and confidentiality procedures
developed to implement networked and non-networked electronic reporting, including
system breaches and penalties for disclosure to State personnel. The Department shall
provide the results of this evaluation to and solicit input from the Vermont HIV/AIDS
Community Advisory Group.
(j) The Department shall collaborate with community-based organizations to educate the
public and health care providers about the benefits of HIV testing and the use of
current testing technologies.
(k) The Commissioner shall maintain a separate database of reports received pursuant to
subsection 1141(i) of this title for the purpose of tracking the number of tests performed pursuant to chapter 21,
subchapter 5 of this title and other information as the Department of Health finds
necessary and appropriate. The database shall not include any information that personally
identifies a patient. (Amended 1979, No. 60, § 1; 1997, No. 7, § 1, eff. April 29, 1997; 1999, No. 17, § 2; 2007, No. 73, § 2; eff. April 1, 2008; 2007, No. 194 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2009, No. 81 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 20, 2010; 2013, No. 34, § 30a; 2015, No. 37, § 2; 2023, No. 87 (Adj. Sess.), § 75, eff. March 13, 2024.)