Section 13823.5 Of Chapter 3. Criminal Justice Planning From California Penal Code >> Title 6. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 3.
13823.5
. (a) The Office of Emergency Services, with the assistance
of the advisory committee established pursuant to Section 13836,
shall establish a protocol for the examination and treatment of
victims of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault, including
child molestation, and the collection and preservation of evidence
therefrom. The protocol shall contain recommended methods for meeting
the standards specified in Section 13823.11.
(b) In addition to the protocol, the Office of Emergency Services
shall develop informational guidelines, containing general reference
information on evidence collection and examination of victims of, and
psychological and medical treatment for victims of, sexual assault
and attempted sexual assault, including child molestation.
In developing the protocol and the informational guidelines, the
Office of Emergency Services and the advisory committee shall seek
the assistance and guidance of organizations assisting victims of
sexual assault; qualified health care professionals, criminalists,
and administrators who are familiar with emergency room procedures;
victims of sexual assault; and law enforcement officials.
(c) The Office of Emergency Services, in cooperation with the
State Department of Public Health and the Department of Justice,
shall adopt a standard and a complete form or forms for the recording
of medical and physical evidence data disclosed by a victim of
sexual assault or attempted sexual assault, including child
molestation.
Each qualified health care professional who conducts an
examination for evidence of a sexual assault or an attempted sexual
assault, including child molestation, shall use the standard form or
forms adopted pursuant to this section, and shall make those
observations and perform those tests as may be required for recording
of the data required by the form. The forms shall be subject to the
same principles of confidentiality applicable to other medical
records.
The Office of Emergency Services shall make copies of the standard
form or forms available to every public or private general acute
care hospital, as requested.
The standard form shall be used to satisfy the reporting
requirements specified in Sections 11160 and 11161 in cases of sexual
assault, and may be used in lieu of the form specified in Section
11168 for reports of child abuse.
(d) The Office of Emergency Services shall distribute copies of
the protocol and the informational guidelines to every general acute
care hospital, law enforcement agency, and prosecutor's office in the
state.
(e) As used in this chapter, "qualified health care professional"
means a physician and surgeon currently licensed pursuant to Chapter
5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code, or a nurse currently licensed pursuant to Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 2700) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code and working in consultation with a physician and
surgeon who conducts examinations or provides treatment as described
in Section 13823.9 in a general acute care hospital or in a physician
and surgeon's office.