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Title: Section 63.4 - Filing of reports

Effective Date

03/22/2023

63.4 Filing of reports.

(a)(1) All determinations or diagnoses of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, HIV-related illness and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) shall be reported to the commissioner by physicians and other persons authorized to order diagnostic tests or make medical diagnoses or their agents as soon as possible but no later than seven (7) days after the provider's receipt of a positive laboratory result or after diagnosis, whichever is sooner.  Physicians and other persons authorized to order diagnostic tests or make medical diagnoses, or their agents, shall report to the commissioner any determination or diagnosis of acute HIV infection, including primary HIV infection, acute retroviral syndrome, and early HIV infection, within one day (24 hours) of such determination or diagnosis. Acute HIV infection is the earliest stage of HIV disease, and it precedes the development of detectable antibodies to HIV resulting from the viral infection. A report of acute HIV infection must include the basis for the determination or diagnosis, which is: (i) laboratory testing results demonstrating the presence of p24 antigen and HIV virus (RNA or DNA), in the absence of HIV antibodies; and/or (ii) clinical evidence of documented negative testing history which includes previous negative or indeterminate test results within 180 days before the first confirmed positive HIV test result of any type.

(2) All determinations of HIV infection, HIV-related illness and AIDS shall be reported to the commissioner by blood banks as defined in Article 5, Title V of the Public Health Law, by tissue banks and organ procurement organizations as defined by Article 43-B of the Public Health Law as soon as possible but no later than 14 days after receipt of a confirmed positive laboratory result. Such banks and organizations shall report confirmed positive HIV antibody test results and reactive nucleic acid test results.

(3) Pathologists, coroners and medical examiners or other persons determining from examination of a corpse or from the history of the events leading to death, that at the time of death the individual was apparently affected with HIV infection, HIV-related illness or AIDS shall also make such report to the commissioner within 14 days after receipt of a test result or determination.

(4) Laboratories performing tests for screening, diagnosis or monitoring of HIV infection for New York State residents and/or New York State health care providers shall report to the Commissioner cases of determinations or diagnoses of HIV infection, HIV-related illness and AIDS on a schedule to be specified by the Commissioner. Laboratories shall report the following: any reactive test result from an antigen or antibody test performed as an initial screen for HIV infection and the results from all supplemental tests performed to verify HIV infection, all HIV nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) test results, all CD4 lymphocyte counts and percents unless the test was known to be performed for reasons other than HIV infection or HIV-related illness, HIV subtype and antiviral drug resistance testing in a format designated by the Commissioner, and the results of other tests as may be determined by the Commissioner to indicate a diagnosis of HIV infection, HIV-related illness or AIDS.

(b) Reports, including names and addresses of the protected individual, all contact and locating information and other information including demographic, and identifying information as may be specified by the commissioner, shall be made in a manner and format as prescribed by the commissioner.  For the requesting provider and facility, the following information shall be included: provider and facility name, complete provider and facility address and telephone number, and provider and facility National Provider Identification.  Information reported shall also include names and addresses, if available, of contacts, including spouses, known to the physician or other person authorized to order diagnostic tests or make medical diagnoses, or provided to them by the protected individual, and the date each contact was notified if contact notification has already been done; and information, in relation to each reported contact, required by an approved domestic violence screening protocol. After receiving the report, the commissioner or designated representative may request the individual making the report or the person who ordered the diagnostic tests to provide additional information as may be required for the epidemiologic investigation, case finding and analysis of HIV infection, HIV-related illness and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and to implement Public Health Law Article 21, Title III. Notwithstanding this subdivision, test results from New York State approved anonymous test sites shall not be reported to the commissioner unless the test subject chooses to supply identification and convert the anonymous test result to a confidential test result.

(c) Confidentiality. Such reports and additional information maintained by the commissioner or designated representative, including all information generated by contact notification and domestic violence screening activities, shall be kept confidential as required by Public Health Law, Article 21, Title III, and shall not be disclosed except when in the judgment of the public health official, necessary to other authorized public health officials for conducting accurate and complete epidemiological monitoring of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and for conducting contact notification activities, except that information may be disclosed to public health officials in other jurisdictions when necessary to notify the contact or for purposes of de-duplication; no information about the protected individual will be released to any person in the contact notification process. Reports and information may be used in the aggregate in programs approved by the commissioner (1) for the improvement of the quality of medical care provided to persons with HIV/AIDS; (2) with patient identifiers when used within the state or local health department by public health disease programs to assess co-morbidity or completeness of reporting and to direct program needs, in which case patient identifiers shall not be disclosed outside the state or local health department; or (3) when used for purposes of linkage to and retention in care, in which case the protected individual’s individually identifiable health information may be shared among state health departments, local health departments, health care providers as defined in section 63.1(k) of this Part, and entities engaged in care coordination that have a clinical, diagnostic, or public health interest in the patient. For purposes of this section, care coordination shall mean managing, referring to, locating, coordinating, and monitoring health care services for the individual to assure that all medically necessary health care services are made available to and are effectively used by the individual in a timely manner, consistent with patient autonomy. Care coordination shall be conducted by or with the participation of the individual’s health care provider to the extent possible.

Statutory Authority

Public Health Law, Sections 2139 and 2786

Volume

VOLUME A-1a (Title 10)

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