§ 71-503.01 — Reports required; confidentiality; limitations on use; immunity

Nebraska § 71-503.01

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 71: Public Health and Welfare

Text

(1) Whenever any statute of
the state, any ordinance or resolution of a municipal corporation or political
subdivision enacted pursuant to statute, or any rule or regulation of an administrative
agency adopted and promulgated pursuant to statute allows medical
practitioners or other persons to
prescribe, provide, or dispense prescription drugs pursuant to sections 71-503.02
and 71-503.03 or requires medical practitioners or other persons to
report cases of communicable diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases
and other reportable diseases, illnesses, or poisonings or to give notification
of positive laboratory findings to the Department of Health and Human Services
or any county or city board of health, local public health department established pursuant
to sections 71-1626 to 71-1636 , city health department, local health agency,
or state or local public official exercising the duties and responsibilities
of any board of health or health department, such reports or notifications
and the resulting investigations and
such prescription, provision, or dispensing of prescription drugs and records
pertaining thereto shall be confidential except as provided in
this section, shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall be privileged and
inadmissible in evidence in any legal proceeding of any kind or character
and shall not be disclosed to any other department or agency of the State
of Nebraska.
(2) In
order to further the protection of public health, such reports, notifications, and prescription, provision, or dispensing
of prescription drugs may be disclosed by the Department of Health
and Human Services, the official local health department, and the person making
such reports or notifications to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
of the Public Health Service of the United States Department of Health and
Human Services or its successor in such a manner as to ensure that the identity
of any individual cannot be ascertained except
as required for delivery of such prescription drugs pursuant to sections 71-503.02
and 71-503.03 . To further protect the public health, the Department
of Health and Human Services, the official local health department, and the
person making the report or notification may disclose to the official state
and local health departments of other states, territories, and the District
of Columbia such reports and notifications, including sufficient identification
and information so as to ensure that such investigations as deemed necessary
are made.
(3) The
appropriate board, health department, agency, or official may: (a) Publish analyses of reports, information, and the notifications described in
subsection (1) of this section for scientific and public health
purposes in such a manner as to ensure that the identity of any individual
concerned cannot be ascertained; (b) discuss the report or
notification with the attending physician; and (c) make
such investigation as deemed necessary.
(4) Any
medical practitioner, any official health department, the Department of Health
and Human Services, or any other person making such reports or notifications or prescribing, providing, or dispensing
such prescription drugs pursuant to sections 71-503.02 and 71-503.03 shall
be immune from suit for slander or libel or breach of privileged communication
based on any statements contained in such reports and notifications or pursuant to prescription, provision,
or dispensing of such prescription drugs.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1967, c. 441, § 2, p. 1381; Laws 1986, LB 763, § 3; Laws 1988, LB 1012, § 8; Laws 1991, LB 703, § 25; Laws 1994, LB 819, § 3; Laws 1996, LB 1044, § 494; Laws 1997, LB 197, § 4; Laws 2005, LB 301, § 13; Laws 2007, LB296, § 382; Laws 2013, LB528, § 3.