Public Act 098-0851
 
SB3432 EnrolledLRB098 19597 RPS 54789 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by
changing Section 6.08 as follows:
 
    (210 ILCS 85/6.08)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 147.08)
    Sec. 6.08.
    (a) Every hospital shall provide notification as required
in this Section to police officers, firefighters, emergency
medical technicians, private emergency medical services
providers, and ambulance personnel who have provided or are
about to provide transport services, emergency care, or life
support services to a patient who has been diagnosed as having
a dangerous communicable or infectious disease. Such
notification shall not include the name of the patient, and the
emergency services provider agency and any person receiving
such notification shall treat the information received as a
confidential medical record.
    (b) The Department shall utilize the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's list of potentially life-threatening
infectious diseases to determine the diseases for which
establish by regulation a list of those communicable reportable
diseases and conditions for which notification shall be
provided.
    (c) The hospital shall send the letter of notification no
later than 48 hours within 72 hours after a confirmed diagnosis
of any of the bloodborne communicable diseases listed by the
Department pursuant to subsection (b), except confirmed
diagnoses of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The If
there is a confirmed diagnosis of AIDS, the hospital shall
attempt to make verbal communication, followed by written send
the letter of notification only if the police officers,
firefighters, emergency medical technicians, private emergency
medical services providers, or ambulance personnel have
indicated both verbally and on the ambulance run sheet that a
reasonable possibility exists that they have had blood or body
fluid contact with the patient, or if hospital personnel
providing the notification have reason to know of a possible
exposure.
    (c-5) The hospital shall send the letter of notification no
later than 48 hours after a confirmed diagnosis of any of the
airborne or droplet-transmitted communicable diseases listed
by the Department pursuant to subsection (b) and the hospital
shall attempt to make verbal communication, followed by written
notification.
    (d) Notification letters shall be sent to the designated
officer contact at the municipal or private provider agencies
listed on the ambulance run sheet. Except in municipalities
with a population over 1,000,000, a list attached to the
ambulance run sheet must contain all municipal and private
provider agency personnel who have provided any pre-hospital
care immediately prior to transport. In municipalities with a
population over 1,000,000, the ambulance run sheet must contain
the company number or unit designation number for any fire
department personnel who have provided any pre-hospital care
immediately prior to transport. The letter shall state the
names of crew members listed on the attachment to the ambulance
run sheet and the name of the communicable disease diagnosed,
but shall not contain the patient's name. Upon receipt of such
notification letter, the applicable private provider agency or
the designated infectious disease control officer of a
municipal fire department or fire protection district shall
contact all personnel involved in the pre-hospital or
inter-hospital care and transport of the patient. Such
notification letter may, but is not required to, consist of the
following form:
NOTIFICATION LETTER
(NAME OF HOSPITAL)
(ADDRESS)
    TO:...... (Name of Organization)
    FROM:.....(Infection Control Coordinator)
    DATE:.....
    As required by Section 6.08 of the Illinois Hospital
Licensing Act, .....(name of hospital) is hereby providing
notification that the following crew members or agencies
transported or provided pre-hospital care to a patient on .....
(date), and the transported patient was later diagnosed as
having .....(name of communicable disease): .....(list of crew
members if known). The Hospital Licensing Act requires you to
maintain this information as a confidential medical record.
Disclosure of this information may therefore result in civil
liability for the individual or company breaching the patient's
confidentiality, or both.
    If you have any questions regarding this patient, please
contact me at .....(telephone number), between .....(hours).
Questions regarding exposure or the financial aspects of
obtaining medical care should be directed to your employer.
    (e) Upon discharge of a patient with a communicable disease
to emergency personnel, the hospital shall notify the emergency
personnel of appropriate precautions against the communicable
disease, but shall not identify the name of the disease.
    (f) The hospital may, in its discretion, take any measures
in addition to those required in this Section to notify police
officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and
ambulance personnel of possible exposure to any communicable
disease. However, in all cases this information shall be
maintained as a confidential medical record.
    (g) Any person providing or failing to provide notification
under the protocol required by this Section shall have immunity
from any liability, either criminal or civil, that might result
by reason of such action or inaction, unless such action or
inaction is willful.
    (h) Any person who willfully fails to provide any
notification required pursuant to an applicable protocol which
has been adopted and approved pursuant to this Section commits
a petty offense, and shall be subject to a fine of $200 for the
first offense, and $500 for a second or subsequent offense.
    (i) Nothing in this Section shall preclude a civil action
by a firefighter, emergency medical technician, or ambulance
crew member against an emergency services provider agency,
municipal fire department, or fire protection district that
fails to inform the member in a timely fashion of the receipt
of a notification letter.
(Source: P.A. 92-363, eff. 1-1-02.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.