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<section article="ghg" article_name="Health - General" number="18-213" title_number="18" title_name="Disease Prevention" subtitle_number="2" subtitle_name="Reports; Preventive Actions">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Contagious disease or virus” means:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV);</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Meningococcal meningitis;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Tuberculosis;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Mononucleosis;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>Any form of viral hepatitis, including but not limited to hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, F, and G;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>Diphtheria;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>Plague;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="viii">
        <text>Hemorrhagic fevers; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ix">
        <text>Rabies.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>“Correctional institution” means a place of detention or correctional confinement operated by or for the State or a local government.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <level label="i">
        <text>“Correctional officer” means a member of a correctional unit who is charged with and actually performs those duties that relate to the investigation, care, custody, control, or supervision of persons confined to places of incarceration.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>“Correctional officer” includes any sheriff, warden, superintendent, or any other person having an equivalent title.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>“Law enforcement officer” means any person who, in an official capacity, is authorized by law to make arrests and who is a member of one of the following law enforcement agencies:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The Department of State Police;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The Baltimore City Police Department;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The police department, bureau, or force of any county;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>The police department, bureau, or force of any incorporated city or town;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>The office of the sheriff of any county;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vi">
        <text>The police department, bureau, or force of any bicounty agency or constituent institution of the University System of Maryland, Morgan State University, St. Mary’s College, or of any institution under the jurisdiction of the Maryland Higher Education Commission;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="vii">
        <text>The Maryland Transit Administration police force of the Department of Transportation, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Force, and the Maryland Port Administration police force of the Department of Transportation;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="viii">
        <text>The law enforcement officers of the Department of Natural Resources;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ix">
        <text>The Field Enforcement Bureau of the Comptroller’s Office;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="x">
        <text>The Field Enforcement Division of the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="xi">
        <text>The Crofton Police Department;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="xii">
        <text>The Intelligence and Investigative Division of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="xiii">
        <text>The Ocean Pines Police Department.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="6">
      <text>“Medical care facility” means a hospital as defined in § 19–301 of this article or a health care facility of a correctional institution.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>While treating or transporting an ill or injured patient to a medical care facility or while acting in the performance of duty, if a paid or volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, or rescue squad member comes into contact with a patient who is subsequently diagnosed as having a contagious disease or virus, as a result of information obtained in conjunction with the services provided during the visit to the facility, the attending physician, medical examiner, a designee of the medical care facility who receives the patient, the Chief Medical Examiner, or the Chief Medical Examiner’s designee shall notify the firefighter, emergency medical technician, or rescue squad member, and the employer or employer’s designee of the individual’s possible exposure to the contagious disease or virus.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>If, while treating or transporting an ill or injured patient to a medical care facility or while acting in the performance of duty, a law enforcement officer comes into contact with a patient who is subsequently diagnosed, as a result of information obtained in conjunction with the services provided during the visit to the facility, as having a contagious disease or virus, the attending physician, medical examiner, a designee of the medical care facility who receives the patient, the Chief Medical Examiner or the Chief Medical Examiner’s designee shall notify the law enforcement officer and the officer’s employer or employer’s designee of the officer’s possible exposure to the contagious disease or virus.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>If, while treating or transporting an ill or injured incarcerated individual to a medical care facility or while acting in the performance of duty, a correctional officer comes into contact with an incarcerated individual who is subsequently diagnosed, as a result of information obtained in conjunction with the services provided during the visit to the facility, as having a contagious disease or virus, the attending physician, medical examiner, a designee of the medical care facility that receives the incarcerated individual, the Chief Medical Examiner, or the Chief Medical Examiner’s designee shall notify the correctional officer and the correctional officer’s correctional institution or the correctional institution’s designee of the officer’s possible exposure to the contagious disease or virus.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>The notification required under subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this section shall:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Be made within 48 hours, or sooner, of confirmation of the patient’s diagnosis;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Include subsequent written confirmation of possible exposure to the contagious disease or virus;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Be conducted in a manner that will protect the confidentiality of the patient; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>To the extent possible, be conducted in a manner that will protect the confidentiality of the firefighter, emergency medical technician, rescue squad member, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <text>The written confirmation required under subsection (e)(2) of this section shall constitute compliance with this section.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <text>Each medical care facility shall develop written procedures for the implementation of this section, and, upon request, make copies available to the local fire authority, the local fire authority’s designee, the local law enforcement authority, the local law enforcement authority’s designee, the correctional officer, or the correctional institution’s designee having jurisdiction.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <text>A medical care facility, physician, Chief Medical Examiner, or the Chief Medical Examiner’s designee acting in good faith to provide notification in accordance with this section may not be liable in any cause of action related to the breach of patient confidentiality.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="i">
    <text>A medical care facility, physician, Chief Medical Examiner, or the Chief Medical Examiner’s designee acting in good faith to provide notification in accordance with this section may not be liable in any cause of action for:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>The failure to give the required notice, if the firefighter, emergency medical technician, rescue squad member, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer fails to properly initiate the notification procedures developed by the health care facility under subsection (g) of this section; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The failure of the employer or employer’s designee to subsequently notify the firefighter, emergency medical technician, rescue squad member, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer of the possible exposure to a contagious disease or virus.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="j">
    <text>A firefighter, emergency medical technician, rescue squad member, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer shall receive from their employers or local governmental bodies, at the expense of the employer or local governmental body, as part of their training, education on:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <level label="i">
        <text>The routes of transmission of HIV and hepatitis B virus; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The routes by which a firefighter, emergency medical technician, rescue squad member, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer may be exposed to HIV and hepatitis B virus; and</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for preventing prehospital exposure to HIV and hepatitis B while rendering emergency medical care.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="k">
    <text>A firefighter, emergency medical technician, rescue squad member, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer shall receive from their employers, associations, or local governmental bodies, at the employers’, associations’, or local governmental bodies’ expense, equipment recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect a firefighter, emergency medical technician, rescue squad member, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer from exposure to HIV and hepatitis B while rendering emergency medical care.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="l">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The fire department, law enforcement agency, and all other agencies or organizations employing a firefighter, emergency medical technician, rescue squad member, law enforcement officer, or correctional officer shall develop written procedures for the implementation of this section.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>On request, copies of the procedures developed in this subsection shall be made available to employees, employee unions, volunteer associations, and the Secretary.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="m">
    <text>A person under this section may not refuse to treat or transport an individual because the individual is HIV positive.</text>
  </level>
</section>
