(a) All information and records relating to injuries
received by the local health authority or the department, including
information electronically submitted to the Texas EMS & Trauma
Registries and information from injury investigations, are sensitive,
confidential, and not public records.
(b) These records shall be held in a secure place and
accessed only by authorized personnel. All communications pertaining
to these records shall be clearly labeled "Confidential"
and will follow established departmental internal protocols and procedures.
(c) Information or records relating to any personal
injury may not be released or made public on subpoena or otherwise,
except that release may be made:
(1) for statistical purposes, if released in a manner
that prevents the identification of any person;
(2) with the consent of each person identified in the
information released; or
(3) to medical personnel in a medical emergency to
the extent necessary to protect the health or life of the named person.
(d) The department may limit the release of record-level
data for medical research to those studies with high scientific merit
and have been approved by the department’s Institutional Review
Board.
(e) A reporting entity may request in writing its own
reportable data that has been submitted to the Registries.
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