Section 1797.188 Of Article 5. Personnel 1797.160-1797.197a From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 2.5. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 5.
1797.188
. (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Prehospital emergency medical care person or personnel" means
any of the following: an authorized registered nurse or mobile
intensive care nurse, emergency medical technician-I, emergency
medical technician-II, emergency medical technician-paramedic,
lifeguard, firefighter, or peace officer, as defined or described by
Sections 1797.56, 1797.80, 1797.82, 1797.84, 1797.182, and 1797.183,
respectively, or a physician and surgeon who provides prehospital
emergency medical care or rescue services.
(2) "Reportable disease or condition" or "a disease or condition
listed as reportable" means those diseases prescribed by Subchapter 1
(commencing with Section 2500) of Chapter 4 of Title 17 of the
California Administrative Code, as may be amended from time to time.
(3) "Exposed" means at risk for contracting the disease, as
defined by regulations of the state department.
(4) "Health facility" means a health facility, as defined in
Section 1250, including a publicly operated facility.
(b) In addition to the communicable disease testing and
notification procedures applicable under Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 120260) of Part 1 of Division 105, all prehospital emergency
medical care personnel, whether volunteers, partly paid, or fully
paid, who have provided emergency medical or rescue services and have
been exposed to a person afflicted with a disease or condition
listed as reportable, which can, as determined by the county health
officer, be transmitted through oral contact or secretions of the
body, including blood, shall be notified that they have been exposed
to the disease and should contact the county health officer if all
the following are satisfied:
(1) The prehospital emergency medical care person, who has
rendered emergency medical or rescue services and has been exposed to
a person afflicted with a reportable disease or condition, provides
the health facility with his or her name and telephone number at the
time the patient is transferred from that prehospital emergency
medical care person to the admitting health facility; or the party
transporting the person afflicted with the reportable disease or
condition provides that health facility with the name and telephone
number of the prehospital emergency medical care person who provided
the emergency medical or rescue services.
(2) The health facility reports the name and telephone number of
the prehospital emergency medical care person to the county health
officer upon determining that the person to whom the prehospital
emergency medical care person provided the emergency medical or
rescue services is diagnosed as being afflicted with a reportable
disease or condition.
(c) The county health officer shall immediately notify the
prehospital emergency medical care person who has provided emergency
medical or rescue services and has been exposed to a person afflicted
with a disease or condition listed as reportable, which can, as
determined by the county health officer, be transmitted through oral
contact or secretions of the body, including blood, upon receiving
the report from a health facility pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b). The county health officer shall not disclose the
name of the patient or other identifying characteristics to the
prehospital emergency medical care person.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the
further disclosure of confidential medical information by the health
facility or any prehospital emergency medical care personnel
described in this section except as otherwise authorized by law.
In the event of the demise of the person afflicted with the
reportable disease or condition, the health facility or county health
officer shall notify the funeral director, charged with removing the
decedent from the health facility, of the reportable disease prior
to the release of the decedent from the health facility to the
funeral director.
Notwithstanding Section 1798.206, violation of this section is not
a misdemeanor.