Indiana § 16-41-7-3 Notification by physician

Indiana Statutes

§ 16-41-7-3 — Notification by physician

Indiana·Title 16 HEALTH·Art. 41 PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES FOR THE·Ch. 7 Communicable Disease: Duty or Authority to Inform or

(a)A licensed physician who diagnoses, treats, or counsels a patient with a serious communicable disease shall inform the patient of the patient's duty under section 1 of this chapter.

(b)A physician described in subsection (a) may notify the following:

(1)A health officer if the physician has reasonable cause to believe that a patient:

(A)is a serious and present risk to the health of others as described in section 2(a) of this chapter;

(B)has engaged in noncompliant behavior; or

(C)is suspected of being a person at risk (as defined in section 1 of this chapter).

(2)A person at risk (as defined in section 1 of this chapter) or a person legally responsible for the patient if the physician:

(A)has medical verification that the patient is an individual with a communicable disease; (B

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(a) A licensed physician who diagnoses, treats,
or counsels a patient with a serious communicable disease shall inform
the patient of the patient's duty under section 1 of this chapter.
(b) A physician described in subsection (a) may notify the
following:
(1) A health officer if the physician has reasonable cause to
believe that a patient:
(A) is a serious and present risk to the health of others as
described in section 2(a) of this chapter;
(B) has engaged in noncompliant behavior; or
(C) is suspected of being a person at risk (as defined in section
1 of this chapter).
(2) A person at risk (as defined in section 1 of this chapter) or a
person legally responsible for the patient if the physician:
(A) has medical verification that the patient is an individual
with a communicable disease;
(B) knows the identity of the person at risk;
(C) has a reasonable belief of a significant risk of harm to the
identified person at risk;
(D) has reason to believe the identified person at risk has not
been informed and will not be informed of the risk by the
patient or another person; and
(E) has made reasonable efforts to inform the individual with a
communicable disease of the physician's intent to make or
cause the state department to make a disclosure to the person at
risk.
(c) A physician who notifies a person at risk under this section shall
do the following:
(1) Identify the serious communicable disease.
(2) Inform the person of available health care measures such as
counseling and testing.
(d) A physician who in good faith provides notification under this
section is not subject to liability in a civil, an administrative, a
disciplinary, or a criminal action.
(e) A patient's privilege with respect to a physician under IC 34-46-3-1 is waived regarding:
(1) notification under subsection (b); and
(2) information provided about a patient's noncompliant behavior
in an investigation or action under this chapter, IC 16-41-2, IC 16-41-3, IC 16-41-5, IC 16-41-6, IC 16-41-8, IC 16-41-9, IC 16-41-13, IC 16-41-14, and IC 16-41-16.
(f) A physician's immunity from liability under subsection (d)
applies only to the provision of information reasonably calculated to
protect an identified person who is at epidemiological risk of infection.
(g) A physician who notifies a person under this section is also
required to satisfy the reporting requirements under IC 16-41-2-2
through IC 16-41-2-8.
[Pre-1993 Recodification Citation: 16-1-10.5-11.5.]