25 Tex. Admin. Code § 97.134 - How to Report Sexually Transmitted Diseases
(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.
Notes
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