(a) All reportable information received by the health
authority or the department is confidential as provided by law, including
(but not limited to) Texas Health and Safety Code, §81.046 and
§81.103.
(b) Reporting forms and/or information from all entities
required to report should be sent to the local health authority where
the health professional's office, hospital, laboratory or medical
facility is located or, if there is no local health authority in that
jurisdiction, the reports should be forwarded to the regional director
in the department's health service region office which covers the
area where the health professional's office, hospital, laboratory,
or medical facility is located. A department resource to help determine
the proper reporting location can be found at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/hivstd/healthcare/reporting/regions.shtm.
(c) Reports of STD cases (including HIV) as well as
HIV-exposed infants shall contain all of the information required
on the reporting forms specified in §97.133(2) of this title
(relating to Reporting Information for Sexually Transmitted Diseases).
Forms can be obtained from local health departments and department
health service regions; forms shall be provided without charge to
individuals required to report. A list of local health departments
and department health service region offices that can provide reporting
forms is currently available at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/hivstd/healthcare/reporting/regions.shtm.
(d) Health professionals and other persons as specified
by §97.132(a)(1) - (3) of this title must submit reports of suspected
primary or secondary syphilis and acute HIV infection by telephone
within one working day of a suspected diagnosis. All other reports
of suspected STD cases and HIV-exposed infants from health professionals
and other persons as specified by §97.132 of this title must
be submitted within seven calendar days of that determination.
(e) Any person in charge of a clinical laboratory or
other entity as specified by §97.132(a)(2) of this title shall
submit reportable syphilis test results within three working days
of obtaining the test result and shall submit all other reportable
STD (including HIV) test results within seven calendar days of obtaining
the test results. In addition to required reporting, if, during any
calendar quarter, tests for chancroid, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria
gonorrhea, HIV and/or syphilis are performed and all test results
are non-reportable, the person in charge of reporting for the laboratory
shall submit a statement to this effect on or before January 5, April
5, July 5, and October 5 following that calendar quarter.
(f) A local health authority shall forward each week
to the department all cases and STD test results, including HIV infection
and AIDS (stage 3 of HIV infection) reported to that health authority
during the previous week.
(g) All reporting of personal health information to
the department shall be submitted in accordance with department's
security and confidentiality requirements, currently found at https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/hivstd/policy/security.shtm.
(1) Information on how to submit electronic reports
can be obtained from the Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch through
an email request (current e-mail address is HIVSTDreporting@dshs.state.tx.us).
(2) Paper reports should be mailed to the Texas Department
of State Health Services, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Mail
Code 1873, P.O. Box 149347, Austin, Texas 78714-9347.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §97.134 adopted to be effective January 1, 1999, 23 TexReg 12669; amended to be effective August 5, 2001, 26 TexReg 5819; amended to be effective January 1, 2010, 34 TexReg 9445; amended to be effective October 14, 2015, 40 TexReg 7234 |