Title: Section 63.1 - Definitions

63.1 Definitions

(a) "HIV-infection" means infection with the human immunodeficiency viruses that are the cause of AIDS or as the term may be defined from time to time by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Public Health Service.

(b) "AIDS" means acquired immune deficiency syndrome, as may be defined from time to time by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Public Health Service.

(c) "HIV-related illness" means any clinical illness that may result from or be associated with HIV infection.

(d) "HIV-related test or HIV-related testing" means any laboratory test, tests or series of tests approved for the diagnosis of HIV. (e) "Rapid HIV test or testing" means any HIV-related test or tests approved for detecting antibodies or antigens to HIV, that produce results in sixty minutes or less, and encompasses a supplemental test to confirm the HIV-related test if the screening test is reactive. The sixty minutes does not include the time needed for confirmation or delivery of results to the patient.

(f) "Capacity to consent" means an individual's ability, determined without regard to the individual's age, to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a proposed health care service, treatment, or procedure, or of a proposed disclosure of confidential HIV-related information, and to make an informed decision concerning the service, treatment, procedure or disclosure.

(g) "Protected individual" means a person who is the subject of an HIV related test or who has been diagnosed as having HIV infection, AIDS or HIV-related illness.

(h) "Confidential HIV-related information" means any information, in the possession of a person who provides health or social services or who obtains the information pursuant to a release of confidential HIV-related information, concerning whether an individual has been the subject of an HIV-related test, or has HIV infection, HIV-related illness or AIDS, or information which identifies or reasonably could identify an individual as having one or more of such conditions, including information pertaining to such individual's contacts.

(i) "Health or social service" means any care, treatment, clinical laboratory test, counseling or educational service for adults or children, and acute, chronic, custodial, residential, outpatient, home or other health care; public assistance, including disability payments available pursuant to the Social Security Act; employment-related services, housing services, foster care, shelter, protective services, day care, or preventive services; services for the mentally disabled; probation services; parole services; correctional services; detention and rehabilitative services; and the activities of the Health Care Worker HIV/HBV Advisory Panel (see Public Health Law Article 27-DD), all as defined in section 2780(8) of the Public Health Law.

(j) "Health facility" means a hospital as defined in section 2801 of the Public Health Law, blood bank, organ procurement organization, tissue bank, clinical laboratory, or facility providing care or treatment to persons with a mental disability.

(k) "Health care provider" or "provider" means any physician, nurse, licensed or certified provider of diagnostic medical services, including a nurse practitioner, a midwife and physician assistant, provider of services for the mentally disabled or other person involved in providing medical, nursing, counseling, or other health care or mental health service including those associated with, or under contract to, a health maintenance organization or medical services plan. Diagnostic providers include physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and midwives who are authorized to order diagnostic tests and to make clinical diagnoses. (l) "Primary care" means the medical fields of family medicine, general pediatrics, primary care, internal medicine, primary care obstetrics, or primary care gynecology, without regard to board certification or setting where primary care is provided.

(m) "Contact" means an identified spouse or sex partner of the protected individual or a person identified as having shared hypodermic needles or syringes with the protected individual, or a person whom the protected individual may have exposed to HIV under circumstances that present a risk of transmission of HIV, as noted in section 63.8(m) of this Part. (n) "Contact tracing" shall mean the process of notifying known contacts of protected individuals as reported by the physician or as disclosed by the protected individuals themselves, and of seeking the cooperation of protected individuals to name contacts, as described in section 63.8 of this Part. For the purposes of this Part, the terms "contact notification", "partner notification", "partner assistance" and "partner counseling and referral services" shall be synonymous with "contact tracing". In all cases of contact tracing authorized in this Part, the name or other identifying information regarding the protected person shall not be disclosed to contacts and the name of contacts shall not be disclosed to other contacts.

(o) "Person" includes any natural person, partnership, association, joint venture, trust, public or private corporation or state or local government agency.

(p) "Release of confidential HIV-related information" means a written authorization for disclosure of confidential HIV-related information which is signed by the protected individual, or if the protected individual lacks capacity to consent, a person authorized pursuant to law to consent to health care for the individual. Such release shall be dated and shall specify to whom disclosure is authorized, the purpose for such disclosure and the time period during which the release is to be effective. A general authorization for the release of medical or other information shall not be construed as a release of confidential HIV-related information, unless such authorization specifically indicates its dual purpose as a general authorization and an authorization for the release of confidential HIV-related information and complies with this definition.

(q) "Insurance institution" means any corporation, association, partnership, reciprocal exchange, interinsurer, fraternal benefits society, agent, broker or other entity in the business of providing health, life and disability coverage including, but not limited to, any health maintenance organization, medical service plan, or hospital plan which: (1) is engaged in the business of insurance; (2) provides health services coverage plans; or (3) provides benefits under, administers, or provides services for, an employee welfare benefit as defined in 29 U.S.C. 1002(1). (r) "Municipal health commissioner" shall mean, for purposes of this Part, a county health commissioner, except, in New York City, the term shall mean the New York City health commissioner. Such county health commissioner and New York City health commissioner shall conduct reporting, counseling and contact notification activities consistent with guidelines acceptable to the commissioner in compliance with Article 21, Title III and Article 27-F of the Public Health Law. (s) "District health officer" shall mean, for the purposes of this Part, the commissioner or his/her designee. (t) For the purposes of this Part, "commissioner" shall mean the New York State Commissioner of Health. (u) For the purposes of this Part, "authorized public health official" shall mean New York State Commissioner of Health, a municipal health commissioner or a district health officer, or their designee.