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[Utah Code Table of Contents]
[TITLE 78. Table of Contents]
78-29-101 Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter:
(1) "Blood or contaminated body fluids" includes blood, amniotic fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, pleural fluid, synovial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, semen, and vaginal secretions, and any body fluid visibly contaminated with blood.
(2) "Disease" means the same as that term is defined in Section 26-6a-1 .
(3) "Emergency medical services provider" means an individual certified under Section 26-8a-302 , a public safety officer, local fire department personnel, or personnel employed by the Department of Corrections or by a county jail, who provide pre-hospital emergency medical care for an emergency medical services provider either as an employee or as a volunteer.
(4) "First aid volunteer" means a person who provides voluntary emergency assistance or first aid medical care to an injured person prior to the arrival of an emergency medical services provider or public safety officer.
(5) "Public safety officer" means a peace officer as defined in Title 53, Chapter 13, Peace Officer Classifications.
(6) "Significant exposure" and "significantly exposed"
mean the same as the term "significant exposure" is defined
in Section
26-6a-1
.
1999
78-29-102 Petition - Disease testing - Notice - Payment for testing.
(1) An emergency medical services provider, or first aid volunteer who is significantly exposed during the course of performing the emergency medical services provider's duties or during the course of performing emergency assistance or first aid may:
(a) request that the person to whom he was significantly exposed voluntarily submit to testing pursuant to Title 26, Chapter 6a; or
(b) petition the district court for an order requiring that the person to whom he was significantly exposed submit to testing to determine the presence of a disease, as defined in Section 78-29-101 , and that the results of that test be disclosed to the petitioner by the Department of Health.
(2) (a) The petitioner shall file a petition with the district court seeking an order to submit to testing and to disclose the results in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b) The petition shall be sealed upon filing and made accessible only to the petitioner, the subject of the petition, and their attorneys, upon court order.
(3) (a) The petition described in Subsection (2) shall be accompanied by:
(i) the documentation required under Subsection 26-6a-2 (1); or
(ii) an affidavit in which the emergency medical services provider or first aid volunteer certifies that he has been significantly exposed to the individual who is the subject of the petition and describes that exposure.
(b) The petitioner shall submit to testing to determine the presence of a disease, when the petition is filed or within ten days after the petition is filed.
(4) The petitioner shall cause the petition required under this section to be served on the person who the petitioner is requesting to be tested in a manner that will best preserve the confidentiality of that person.
(5) (a) The court shall set a time for a hearing on the matter within 20 days after the petition is filed and shall give the petitioner and the individual who is the subject of the petition notice of the hearing at least 72 hours prior to the hearing.
(b) The individual who is the subject of the petition shall also be notified that he may have an attorney present at the hearing, and that his attorney may examine and cross-examine witnesses.
(c) The hearing shall be conducted in camera.
(6) The district court may enter an order requiring that an individual submit to testing for a disease if the court finds probable cause to believe:
(a) the petitioner was significantly exposed; and
(b) the exposure occurred during the course of the emergency medical services provider's duties, or the provision of emergency assistance or first aid by a first aid volunteer.
(7) The court may order that additional, follow-up testing be conducted, and that the individual submit to that testing, as it determines to be necessary and appropriate.
(8) The court is not required to order an individual to submit to a test under this section if it finds that there is a substantial reason, relating to the life or health of the individual, not to enter the order.
(9) (a) Upon order of the district court that a person submit to testing for a disease, that person shall report to the designated local health department to have his blood drawn within ten days from the issuance of the order, and thereafter as designated by the court, or be held in contempt of court.
(b) The court shall send the order to the Department of Health and to the local health department ordered to draw the blood.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Title 26, Chapter 6a, or of Section 26-6-27 , the Department of Health and a local health department may disclose the test results pursuant to a court order as provided in this section.
(d) Under this section, anonymous testing as provided under Section 26-6-3.5 or under Title 26, Chapter 6a, shall not satisfy the requirements of the court order.
(10) The local health department or the Department of Health shall inform the subject of the petition and the petitioner of the results of the test and advise both parties that the test results are confidential. That information shall be maintained as confidential by all parties to the action.
(11) The court, its personnel, the process server, the Department of Health, local health department, and petitioner shall maintain confidentiality of the name and any other identifying information regarding the individual tested and the results of the test as they relate to that individual, except as specifically authorized by this chapter or by Title 26, Chapter 6a.
(12) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (12)(b), the petitioner shall remit payment for the drawing of the blood specimen and the analysis of the specimen for the mandatory disease testing to the entity that draws the blood.
(b) If the petitioner is an emergency medical services provider, the agency which employs the emergency medical services provider shall remit payment for the drawing of the blood specimen and the analysis of the specimen for the mandatory disease testing to the entity that draws the blood.
(13) The entity that draws the blood shall cause the blood and the payment for the analysis of the specimen to be delivered to the Department of Health for analysis.
(14) If the individual is incarcerated, the incarcerating
authority shall either draw the blood specimen or shall pay
the expenses of having the individual's blood drawn.
1999
78-29-103 Confidentiality - Disclosure - Penalty.
Any person or entity entitled to receive confidential
information under this chapter, other than the individual
tested and identified in the information, who violates the
provisions of this chapter by releasing or making public
that confidential information, or by otherwise breaching
the confidentiality requirements of this chapter, is guilty
of a class B misdemeanor, unless the information is otherwise
released or provided pursuant to the provisions of Title
26, Chapter 6a.
1999
