CHAPTER 3701: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

As used in sections 3701.01, 3701.04, 3701.08, 3701.09, and 3701.37 to 3701.45 of the Revised Code:

(A) “The federal act” means Title VI of the “Public Health Service Act,” 60 Stat. 1041 (1946), 42 U.S.C. 291, as amended.

(B) “The surgeon general” means the surgeon general of the public health service of the United States or such other officer or employee of the United States responsible for administration of the federal act.

(C) “Hospital” includes public health centers and general, mental, chronic disease, and other types of hospitals, and related facilities, such as laboratories, outpatient departments, nurses’ home facilities, extended care facilities, self-care units, and central service facilities operated in connection with hospitals, and also includes education and training facilities for health professions personnel operated as an integral part of a hospital, but does not include any hospital furnishing primarily domiciliary care.

(D) “Public health center” means a publicly owned facility for the housing of the public health services of a community and one which makes available equipment to aid physicians in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease.

(E) “Nonprofit hospital,” or “nonprofit” as applied to a facility, means any hospital or facility owned and operated by one or more nonprofit corporations or associations no part of the net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

(F) “Medical facilities” means outpatient facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and facilities for long-term care, including nursing homes, as those terms are defined in the federal act, and such other facilities for which federal aid may be authorized under the federal act.

Effective Date: 10-10-2000

There is hereby created a department of health. The department shall consist of a director of health and a public health council.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) The public health council shall adopt, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, such rules as are necessary to carry out sections 3701.021 to 3701.0210 of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, rules to establish the following:

(1) Medical and financial eligibility requirements for the program for medically handicapped children;

(2) Eligibility requirements for providers of services for medically handicapped children;

(3) Procedures to be followed by the department of health in disqualifying providers for violating requirements adopted under division (A)(2) of this section;

(4) Procedures to be used by the department regarding application for diagnostic services under division (B) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code and payment for those services under division (E) of that section;

(5) Standards for the provision of service coordination by the department of health and city and general health districts;

(6) Procedures for the department to use to determine the amount to be paid annually by each county for services for medically handicapped children and to allow counties to retain funds under divisions (A)(2) and (3) of section 3701.024 of the Revised Code;

(7) Financial eligibility requirements for services for Ohio residents twenty-one years of age or older who have cystic fibrosis;

(8) Criteria for payment of approved providers who provide services for medically handicapped children;

(9) Criteria for the department to use in determining whether the payment of health insurance premiums of participants in the program for medically handicapped children is cost-effective;

(10) Procedures for appeal of denials of applications under divisions (A) and (D) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code, disqualification of providers, and amounts paid for services;

(11) Terms of appointment for members of the medically handicapped children’s medical advisory council created in section 3701.025 of the Revised Code;

(12) Eligibility requirements for the hemophilia program, including income and hardship requirements.

(B) The department of health shall develop a manual of operational procedures and guidelines for the program for medically handicapped children to implement sections 3701.021 to 3701.0210 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003

As used in sections 3701.021 to 3701.0210 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Medically handicapped child” means an Ohio resident under twenty-one years of age who suffers primarily from an organic disease, defect, or a congenital or acquired physically handicapping and associated condition that may hinder the achievement of normal growth and development.

(B) “Provider” means a health professional, hospital, medical equipment supplier, and any individual, group, or agency that is approved by the department of health pursuant to division (C) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code and that provides or intends to provide goods or services to a child who is eligible for the program for medically handicapped children.

(C) “Service coordination” means case management services provided to medically handicapped children that promote effective and efficient organization and utilization of public and private resources and ensure that care rendered is family-centered, community-based, and coordinated.

(D)(1) “Third party” means any person or government entity other than the following:

(a) A medically handicapped child participating in the program for medically handicapped children or the child’s parent or guardian;

(b) The department or any program administered by the department, including the “Maternal and Child Health Block Grant,” Title V of the “Social Security Act,” 95 Stat. 818 (1981), 42 U.S.C.A. 701, as amended;

(c) The “caring program for children” operated by the nonprofit community mutual insurance corporation.

(2) “Third party” includes all of the following:

(a) Any trust established to benefit a medically handicapped child participating in the program or the child’s family or guardians, if the trust was established after the date the medically handicapped child applied to participate in the program;

(b) That portion of a trust designated to pay for the medical and ancillary care of a medically handicapped child, if the trust was established on or before the date the medically handicapped child applied to participate in the program;

(c) The program awarding reparations to victims of crime established under sections 2743.51 to 2743.72 of the Revised Code.

(E) “Third-party benefits” means any and all benefits paid by a third party to or on behalf of a medically handicapped child participating in the program or the child’s parent or guardian for goods or services that are authorized by the department pursuant to division (B) or (D) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code.

(F) “Hemophilia program” means the hemophilia program the department of health is required to establish and administer under section 3701.029 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003

(A) The department of health shall review applications for eligibility for the program for medically handicapped children that are submitted to the department by city and general health districts and physician providers approved in accordance with division (C) of this section. The department shall determine whether the applicants meet the medical and financial eligibility requirements established by the public health council pursuant to division (A)(1) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, and by the department in the manual of operational procedures and guidelines for the program for medically handicapped children developed pursuant to division (B) of that section. Referrals of potentially eligible children for the program may be submitted to the department on behalf of the child by parents, guardians, public health nurses, or any other interested person. The department of health may designate other agencies to refer applicants to the department of health.

(B) In accordance with the procedures established in rules adopted under division (A)(4) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, the department of health shall authorize a provider or providers to provide to any Ohio resident under twenty-one years of age, without charge to the resident or the resident’s family and without restriction as to the economic status of the resident or the resident’s family, diagnostic services necessary to determine whether the resident has a medically handicapping or potentially medically handicapping condition.

(C) The department of health shall review the applications of health professionals, hospitals, medical equipment suppliers, and other individuals, groups, or agencies that apply to become providers. The department shall enter into a written agreement with each applicant who is determined, pursuant to the requirements set forth in rules adopted under division (A)(2) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, to be eligible to be a provider in accordance with the provider agreement required by the medical assistance program established under section 5111.01 of the Revised Code. No provider shall charge a medically handicapped child or the child’s parent or guardian for services authorized by the department under division (B) or (D) of this section.

The department, in accordance with rules adopted under division (A)(3) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, may disqualify any provider from further participation in the program for violating any requirement set forth in rules adopted under division (A)(2) of that section. The disqualification shall not take effect until a written notice, specifying the requirement violated and describing the nature of the violation, has been delivered to the provider and the department has afforded the provider an opportunity to appeal the disqualification under division (H) of this section.

(D) The department of health shall evaluate applications from city and general health districts and approved physician providers for authorization to provide treatment services, service coordination, and related goods to children determined to be eligible for the program for medically handicapped children pursuant to division (A) of this section. The department shall authorize necessary treatment services, service coordination, and related goods for each eligible child in accordance with an individual plan of treatment for the child. As an alternative, the department may authorize payment of health insurance premiums on behalf of eligible children when the department determines, in accordance with criteria set forth in rules adopted under division (A)(9) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, that payment of the premiums is cost-effective.

(E) The department of health shall pay, from appropriations to the department, any necessary expenses, including but not limited to, expenses for diagnosis, treatment, service coordination, supportive services, transportation, and accessories and their upkeep, provided to medically handicapped children, provided that the provision of the goods or services is authorized by the department under division (B) or (D) of this section. Money appropriated to the department of health may also be expended for reasonable administrative costs incurred by the program. The department of health also may purchase liability insurance covering the provision of services under the program for medically handicapped children by physicians and other health care professionals.

Payments made to providers by the department of health pursuant to this division for inpatient hospital care, outpatient care, and all other medical assistance furnished to eligible recipients shall be made in accordance with rules adopted by the public health council pursuant to division (A) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code.

The departments of health and job and family services shall jointly implement procedures to ensure that duplicate payments are not made under the program for medically handicapped children and the medical assistance program established under section 5111.01 of the Revised Code and to identify and recover duplicate payments.

(F) At the time of applying for participation in the program for medically handicapped children, a medically handicapped child or the child’s parent or guardian shall disclose the identity of any third party against whom the child or the child’s parent or guardian has or may have a right of recovery for goods and services provided under division (B) or (D) of this section. The department of health shall require a medically handicapped child who receives services from the program or the child’s parent or guardian to apply for all third-party benefits for which the child may be eligible and require the child, parent, or guardian to apply all third-party benefits received to the amount determined under division (E) of this section as the amount payable for goods and services authorized under division (B) or (D) of this section. The department is the payer of last resort and shall pay for authorized goods or services, up to the amount determined under division (E) of this section for the authorized goods or services, only to the extent that payment for the authorized goods or services is not made through third-party benefits. When a third party fails to act on an application or claim for benefits by a medically handicapped child or the child’s parent or guardian, the department shall pay for the goods or services only after ninety days have elapsed since the date the child, parents, or guardians made an application or claim for all third-party benefits. Third-party benefits received shall be applied to the amount determined under division (E) of this section. Third-party payments for goods and services not authorized under division (B) or (D) of this section shall not be applied to payment amounts determined under division (E) of this section. Payment made by the department shall be considered payment in full of the amount determined under division (E) of this section. Medicaid payments for persons eligible for the medical assistance program established under section 5111.01 of the Revised Code shall be considered payment in full of the amount determined under division (E) of this section.

(G) The department of health shall administer a program to provide services to Ohio residents who are twenty-one or more years of age who have cystic fibrosis and who meet the eligibility requirements established by the rules of the public health council pursuant to division (A)(7) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, subject to all provisions of this section, but not subject to section 3701.024 of the Revised Code.

(H) The department of health shall provide for appeals, in accordance with rules adopted under section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, of denials of applications for the program for medically handicapped children under division (A) or (D) of this section, disqualification of providers, or amounts paid under division (E) of this section. Appeals under this division are not subject to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

The department may designate ombudspersons to assist medically handicapped children or their parents or guardians, upon the request of the children, parents, or guardians, in filing appeals under this division and to serve as children’s, parents’, or guardians’ advocates in matters pertaining to the administration of the program for medically handicapped children and eligibility for program services. The ombudspersons shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed by the department, in accordance with rules of the office of budget and management, for their actual and necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

(I) The department of health, and city and general health districts providing service coordination pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 3701.024 of the Revised Code, shall provide service coordination in accordance with the standards set forth in the rules adopted under section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, without charge, and without restriction as to economic status.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000; 09-29-2005

(A)(1) Under a procedure established in rules adopted under section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, the department of health shall determine the amount each county shall provide annually for the program for medically handicapped children, based on a proportion of the county’s total general property tax duplicate, not to exceed one-tenth of a mill , and charge the county for any part of expenses incurred under the program for treatment services on behalf of medically handicapped children having legal settlement in the county that is not paid from federal funds or through the medical assistance program established under section 5111.01 of the Revised Code. The department shall not charge the county for expenses exceeding the difference between the amount determined under division (A)(1) of this section and any amounts retained under divisions (A)(2) and (3) of this section.

All amounts collected by the department under division (A)(1) of this section shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the medically handicapped children-county assessment fund, which is hereby created. The fund shall be used by the department to comply with sections 3701.021 to 3701.028 of the Revised Code.

(2) The department, in accordance with rules adopted under section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, may allow each county to retain up to ten per cent of the amount determined under division (A)(1) of this section to provide funds to city or general health districts of the county with which the districts shall provide service coordination, public health nursing, or transportation services for medically handicapped children.

(3) In addition to any amount retained under division (A)(2) of this section, the department, in accordance with rules adopted under section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, may allow counties that it determines have significant numbers of potentially eligible medically handicapped children to retain an amount equal to the difference between:

(a) Twenty-five per cent of the amount determined under division (A)(1) of this section;

(b) Any amount retained under division (A)(2) of this section.

Counties shall use amounts retained under division (A)(3) of this section to provide funds to city or general health districts of the county with which the districts shall conduct outreach activities to increase participation in the program for medically handicapped children.

(4) Prior to any increase in the millage charged to a county, the public health council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed increase and shall give notice of the hearing to each board of county commissioners that would be affected by the increase at least thirty days prior to the date set for the hearing. Any county commissioner may appear and give testimony at the hearing. Any increase in the millage any county is required to provide for the program for medically handicapped children shall be determined, and notice of the amount of the increase shall be provided to each affected board of county commissioners, no later than the first day of June of the fiscal year next preceding the fiscal year in which the increase will take effect.

(B) Each board of county commissioners shall establish a medically handicapped children’s fund and shall appropriate thereto an amount, determined in accordance with division (A)(1) of this section, for the county’s share in providing medical, surgical, and other aid to medically handicapped children residing in such county and for the purposes specified in divisions (A)(2) and (3) of this section. Each county shall use money retained under divisions (A)(2) and (3) of this section only for the purposes specified in those divisions.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

(A) There is hereby created the medically handicapped children’s medical advisory council consisting of twenty-one members to be appointed by the director of health for terms set in accordance with rules adopted by the public health council under division (A)(11) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code. The medically handicapped children’s medical advisory council shall advise the director regarding the administration of the program for medically handicapped children, the suitable quality of medical practice for providers, and the requirements for medical eligibility for the program.

All members of the council shall be licensed physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other professionals in the field of medicine, representative of the various disciplines involved in the treatment of children with medically handicapping conditions, and representative of the treatment facilities involved, such as hospitals, private and public health clinics, and private physicians’ offices, and shall be eligible for the program.

Members of the council shall receive no compensation, but shall receive their actual and necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties in accordance with the rules of the office of budget and management.

(B) The director of health may appoint a maternal and child health council to represent the views of service providers, other interest groups, consumers, and various geographic areas of the state. The maternal and child health council shall advise the department of health on matters pertaining to maternal and child health and, in particular, the “Maternal and Child Health Block Grant,” Title V of the “Social Security Act,” 95 Stat. 818, (1981) 42 U.S.C.A. 701, as amended. Members of the council shall receive no compensation, but shall receive their actual and necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties in accordance with the rules of the office of budget and management.

Effective Date: 12-02-1996

(A) The acceptance of assistance under the program for medically handicapped children gives a right of subrogation to the department of health against the liability of a third party for the costs of goods or services paid by the department under division (E) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code. The department’s subrogation claim shall not exceed the total cost of the goods and services paid under division (E) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code.

(B) To enforce its subrogation rights, the department may do any of the following:

(1) Intervene or join in any action or proceeding brought by a medically handicapped child or his parent or guardian against any third party who may be liable for the cost of goods and services paid under division (E) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code;

(2) Institute and pursue legal proceedings against any third party who may be liable for the cost of goods and services paid under division (E) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code;

(3) Initiate legal proceedings in conjunction with a medically handicapped child or his parent or guardian against any third party who may be liable for the cost of goods and services paid under division (E) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code.

(C) When an action or claim is brought against a third party by a medically handicapped child participating in the program or his parent or guardian, the entire amount of any settlement or compromise of the action or claim, or any court award or judgment, is subject to the subrogation right of the department. If all or part of settlement, compromise, award, or judgment is established in the form of a trust to benefit the child or his family or guardians, the department may waive its right of subrogation against all or part of the trust. Any settlement, compromise, award, or judgment that excludes the costs of goods and services paid under division (E) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code shall not preclude the department from enforcing its subrogation right under this section.

(D) No settlement, compromise, judgment, or award or any recovery in any action or claim by a medically handicapped child or his parent or guardian when the department has a right of subrogation shall be made final without first giving the department notice and the opportunity to perfect its right of subrogation. If the department is not given notice, the child, parent, or guardian is liable to reimburse the department for the cost of goods and services paid under division (E) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code out of any recovery received. The third party becomes liable to the department as soon as the third party is notified in writing of the valid claims for subrogation under this section.

(E) Subrogation does not apply to that portion of any judgment, award, settlement, or compromise of a claim, to the extent that attorney’s fees, costs, or other expenses are incurred by a medically handicapped child or his parent or guardian in securing the judgment, award, settlement, or compromise, or to the extent that the cost of goods and services specified in divisions (B) and (D) of section 3701.023 of the Revised Code are paid by the child, parent, or guardian. Attorney’s fees and costs or other expenses in securing any recovery shall not be assessed against any subrogated claim of the department.

Effective Date: 01-14-1993

The department of health shall administer funds received from the “Maternal and Child Health Block Grant,” Title V of the “Social Security Act,” 95 Stat. 818 (1981), 42 U.S.C.A. 701, as amended, for programs including the program for medically handicapped children, and to provide technical assistance and consultation to city and general health districts and local health planning organizations in implementing local, community-based, family-centered, coordinated systems of care for medically handicapped children. The department may make grants to persons and other entities for the provision of services with the funds. In addition, the department may use the funds to purchase liability insurance covering the provision of services under the programs by physicians and other health care professionals, and to pay health insurance premiums on behalf of medically handicapped children participating in the program for medically handicapped children when the department determines, in accordance with criteria set forth in rules adopted under division (A)(9) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code, that payment of the premiums is cost effective.

In determining eligibility for services provided with funds received from the “Maternal and Child Health Block Grant,” the department may use the application form established under section 5111.013 of the Revised Code. The department may require applicants to furnish their social security numbers.

Effective Date: 01-14-1993

(A) The following records of the program for medically handicapped children and of programs funded with funds received from the “Maternal and Child Health Block Grant,” Title V of the “Social Security Act,” 95 Stat. 818 (1981), 42 U.S.C.A. 701, as amended, are confidential and are not public records within the meaning of section 149.43 of the Revised Code:

(1) Records that pertain to medical history, diagnosis, treatment, or medical condition;

(2) Reports of psychological diagnosis and treatment and reports of social workers;

(3) Reports of public health nurses.

(B) The department of health shall not release any records specified in division (A) of this section without consent of the subject of the record or, if the subject is a minor, his parent or guardian, except as necessary to do any of the following:

(1) Administer the program for medically handicapped children or other programs funded with funds received from the “Maternal and Child Health Block Grant”;

(2) Coordinate the provision of services under the programs with other state agencies and city and general health districts;

(3) Coordinate payment of providers.

No person or government entity to whom the director, for the purposes specified in this division, releases records described in division (A) of this section shall release those records without consent of the subject of the record or, if the subject is a minor, his parent or guardian, except as necessary for any of the reasons described in this division.

Effective Date: 01-14-1993

Subject to available funds, the department of health shall establish and administer a hemophilia program to provide payment of health insurance premiums for Ohio residents who meet all of the following requirements:

(A) Have been diagnosed with hemophilia or a related bleeding disorder;

(B) Are at least twenty-one years of age;

(C) Meet the eligibility requirements established by rules adopted under division (A)(12) of section 3701.021 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

The medically handicapped children’s medical advisory council shall appoint a hemophilia advisory subcommittee to advise the director of health and council on all matters pertaining to the care and treatment of persons with hemophilia. The duties of the subcommittee include, but are not limited to, the monitoring of care and treatment of children and adults who suffer from hemophilia or from other similar blood disorders.

The subcommittee shall consist of not fewer than fifteen members, each of whom shall be appointed to terms of four years. The members of the subcommittee shall elect a chairperson from among the appointed membership to serve a term of two years. Members of the subcommittee shall serve without compensation, except that they may be reimbursed for travel expenses to and from meetings of the subcommittee.

Members shall be appointed to represent all geographic areas of this state. Not fewer than five members of the subcommittee shall be persons with hemophilia or family members of persons with hemophilia. Not fewer than five members shall be providers of health care services to persons with hemophilia. Not fewer than five members shall be experts in fields of importance to treatment of persons with hemophilia, including experts in infectious diseases, insurance, and law.

Notwithstanding section 101.83 of the Revised Code, that section does not apply to the medically handicapped children’s medical advisory council hemophilia advisory subcommittee, and the subcommittee shall not expire under that section.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003

(A) The director of health shall perform duties that are incident to the director’s position as chief executive officer of the department of health. The director shall administer the laws relating to health and sanitation and the rules of the department of health. The director may designate employees of the department and, during a public health emergency, other persons to administer the laws and rules on the director’s behalf.

(B) Nothing in this section authorizes any action that prevents the fulfillment of duties or impairs the exercise of authority established by law for any other person or entity.

(C) The director shall prepare sanitary and public health rules for consideration by the public health council and submit to the council recommendations for new legislation. The director shall sit at meetings of the council but shall have no vote.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) The director of health shall accept and administer grants received from the federal government or other sources, public or private, that are made available for use in monitoring, studying, and preventing pregnancy losses. To the extent that funding from grants is available, the director shall do the following:

(1) Establish a population-based pregnancy loss registry to monitor the incidence of various types of pregnancy losses that occur in this state, make appropriate epidemiological studies to determine any causal relations of the pregnancy losses with occupational, nutritional, environmental, genetic, or infectious conditions, and determine what can be done to prevent such losses;

(2) Advise, consult, cooperate with, and assist, by contract or otherwise, agencies of the state and federal government, agencies of governments of other states, agencies of political subdivisions of this state, universities, private organizations, corporations, and associations for the purpose of division (A)(1) of this section.

(B) The director may adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to specify the reporting requirements for physicians as necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section.

(C) As used in this section, “pregnancy loss” means a termination of pregnancy within the first twenty weeks of pregnancy either spontaneously or by means other than the purposeful termination of a pregnancy as described in section 2919.11 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 06-30-1997

(A) The director of health shall:

(1) Require reports and make inspections and investigations that the director considers necessary;

(2) Provide administration, appoint personnel, make reports, and take other action as necessary to comply with the requirements of the “Construction and Modernization of Hospitals and Other Medical Facilities Act,” Title VI of the “Public Health Service Act,” 60 Stat. 1041 (1946), 42 U.S.C. 291, as amended, and the regulations adopted under that act;

(3) Procure by contract the temporary or intermittent services of experts, consultants, or organizations when those services are to be performed on a part-time or fee-for-service basis and do not involve the performance of administrative duties;

(4) Enter into agreements for the utilization of the facilities and services of other departments, agencies, and institutions, public or private;

(5) On behalf of the state, solicit, accept, hold, administer, and deposit in the state treasury to the credit of the general operations fund created in section 3701.83 of the Revised Code, any grant, gift, devise, bequest, or contribution made to assist in meeting the cost of carrying out the director’s responsibilities and expend the grant, gift, devise, bequest, or contribution for the purpose for which made. Fees collected by the director in connection with meetings and conferences shall also be credited to the fund and expended for the purposes for which paid.

(6) Make an annual report to the governor on activities and expenditures, including recommendations for such additional legislation as the director considers appropriate to furnish adequate hospital, clinic, and similar facilities to the people of this state.

(7) Establish a system for recruiting, registering, training, and deploying volunteers the director determines are advisable and reasonably necessary to respond to an emergency involving the public’s health.

(B) The director of health may enter into agreements to sell services offered by the department of health to boards of health of city and general health districts and to other departments, agencies, and institutions of this state, other states, or the United States. Fees collected by the director for the sale of services shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the general operations fund created in section 3701.83 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004; 04-14-2006

(A) The employee assistance program is hereby established for the purpose of referring state employees paid by warrant of the director of budget and management who are in need of medical, social, or other services to providers of those services.

The director of health, in consultation with the director of budget and management, shall determine a rate at which the payrolls of all state agencies with employees paid by warrant of the director of budget and management shall be charged each pay period that is sufficient to cover the costs of administering the program. The rate shall be based upon the total number of such employees and may be adjusted as the director of health, in consultation with the director of budget and management, considers necessary. All money collected from the assessment shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the employee assistance general services fund, which is hereby created. The fund shall be used by the director of health to administer the program.

(B) Records of the identity, diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of any person that are maintained in connection with the employee assistance program created in division (A) of this section are not public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code and shall be disclosed only as provided in division (C) of this section.

(C)(1) Records described in division (B) of this section may be disclosed with the prior written consent of the person who is the subject of the record.

(2) Records described in division (B) of this section may be disclosed with or without the prior written consent of the person who is the subject of the record under the following conditions:

(a) To medical personnel to the extent necessary to meet a bona fide medical emergency;

(b) To qualified personnel for the purpose of conducting scientific research, management audits, financial audits, or program evaluation, but the personnel shall not directly or indirectly identify any person who is the subject of the record in any report of the research, audit, or evaluation or in any other manner;

(c) If authorized by an appropriate order of a court of competent jurisdiction granted after a showing of good cause. In determining good cause, the court shall weigh the public interest and the need for disclosure against injury to the person who is the subject of the record and to the employee assistance program. Upon granting such an order, the court shall, in determining the extent to which the disclosure of all or any part of any record is necessary, impose appropriate safeguards against unauthorized disclosure.

(D) Except as authorized by a court order described in division (C)(2)(c) of this section, no record described in division (B) of this section may be used to initiate or substantiate criminal charges against the person who is the subject of the record or to conduct any investigation of such a person.

Effective Date: 07-24-1990; 12-01-2006

Effective Date: 01-01-1998

If authorized by federal statute or regulation, the director of health may establish and collect fees for conducting the initial certification of any person or entity as a provider of health services for purposes of the medicare program established under Title XVIII of the “Social Security Act,” 49 Stat. 620 (1935), 42 U.S.C.A. 301, as amended. The fee established for conducting an initial medicare certification shall not exceed the actual and necessary costs incurred by the department of health in conducting the certification.

All fees collected under this section shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the medicare initial certification fund, which is hereby created. Money credited to the fund shall be used solely to pay the costs of conducting initial medicare certifications.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

When the director of health or department of health is required or authorized to conduct or administer an examination or evaluation of individuals for the purpose of determining competency or for the purpose of issuing a license, certificate, registration, or other authority to practice or perform duties, the director or department may provide for the examination or evaluation by contracting with any public or private entity to conduct or administer the examination or evaluation. The contract may authorize the entity to collect and retain, as all or part of the entity’s compensation under the contract, any fee paid by an individual for the examination or evaluation. An entity authorized to collect and retain a fee is not required to deposit the fee into the state treasury.

Except when considered to be necessary by the director or department, the director or department shall not disclose test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in any examination or evaluation the director or department conducts, administers, or provides for by contract. The test materials, examinations, and evaluation tools are not public records for the purpose of section 149.43 of the Revised Code and are not subject to inspection or copying under section 1347.08 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 09-29-1999

(A) The department of health, in consultation with the children’s trust fund board established under section 3109.15 of the Revised Code and any bodies acting as child fatality review boards on the effective date of this section, shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that establish a procedure for child fatality review boards to follow in conducting a review of the death of a child. The rules shall do all of the following:

(1) Establish the format for the annual reports required by section 307.626 of the Revised Code;

(2) Establish guidelines for a child fatality review board to follow in compiling statistics for annual reports so that the reports do not contain any information that would permit any person’s identity to be ascertained from a report;

(3) Establish guidelines for a child fatality review board to follow in creating and maintaining the comprehensive database of child deaths required by section 307.623 of the Revised Code, including provisions establishing uniform record-keeping procedures;

(4) Establish guidelines, materials, and training to help educate members of child fatality review boards about the purpose of the review process and the confidentiality of the information described in section 307.629 of the Revised Code and to make them aware that such information is not a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(B) On or before the thirtieth day of September of each year, the department of health and the children’s trust fund board jointly shall prepare and publish a report organizing and setting forth the data in all the reports provided by child fatality review boards in their annual reports for the previous calendar year and recommending any changes to law and policy that might prevent future deaths. The department and the children’s trust fund board jointly shall provide a copy of the report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the minority leaders of the house of representatives and the senate, each county or regional child fatality review board, and each county or regional family and children first council.

Effective Date: 10-05-2000

The director of health is authorized to make grants for women’s health services from funds appropriated for that purpose by the general assembly.

None of the funds received through grants for women’s health services shall be used to provide abortion services. None of the funds received through these grants shall be used for counseling for or referrals for abortion, except in the case of a medical emergency. These funds shall be distributed by the director to programs that the department of health determines will provide services that are physically and financially separate from abortion-providing and abortion-promoting activities, and that do not include counseling for or referrals for abortion, other than in the case of medical emergency.

These women’s health services include and are limited to the following: pelvic examinations and laboratory testing; breast examinations and patient education on breast cancer; screening for cervical cancer; screening and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV screening; voluntary choice of contraception, including abstinence and natural family planning; patient education and pre-pregnancy counseling on the dangers of smoking, alcohol, and drug use during pregnancy; education on sexual coercion and violence in relationships; and prenatal care or referral for prenatal care. These health care services shall be provided in a medical clinic setting by persons authorized under Chapter. 4731 of the Revised Code to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery; authorized under Chapter 4730. of the Revised Code to practice as a physician assistant; licensed under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse; or licensed under Chapter 4757. of the Revised Code as a social worker, independent social worker, professional clinical counselor, or professional counselor.

The director shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code specifying reasonable eligibility standards that must be met to receive the state funding and provide reasonable methods by which a grantee wishing to be eligible for federal funding may comply with these requirements for state funding without losing its eligibility for federal funding.

Each applicant for these funds shall provide sufficient assurance to the director of all of the following:

(A) The program shall not discriminate in the provision of services based on an individual’s religion, race, national origin, handicapping condition, age, sex, number of pregnancies, or marital status;

(B) The program shall provide services without subjecting individuals to any coercion to accept services or to employ any particular methods of family planning;

(C) Acceptance of services shall be solely on a voluntary basis and may not be made a prerequisite to eligibility for, or receipt of, any other service, assistance from, or participation in, any other program of the service provider;

(D) Any charges for services provided by the program shall be based on the patient’s ability to pay and priority in the provision of services shall be given to persons from low-income families.

In distributing these grant funds, the director shall give priority to grant requests from local departments of health for women’s health services to be provided directly by personnel of the local department of health. The director shall issue a single request for proposals for all grants for women’s health services. The director shall send a notification of this request for proposals to every local department of health in this state and shall place a notification on the department’s web site. The director shall allow at least thirty days after issuing this notification before closing the period to receive applications.

After the closing date for receiving grant applications, the director shall first consider grant applications from local departments of health that apply for grants for women’s health services to be provided directly by personnel of the local department of health. Local departments of health that apply for grants for women’s health services to be provided directly by personnel of the local department of health need not provide all the listed women’s health services in order to qualify for a grant. However, in prioritizing awards among local departments of health that qualify for funding under this paragraph, the director may consider, among other reasonable factors, the comprehensiveness of the women’s health services to be offered, provided that no local department of health shall be discriminated against in the process of awarding these grant funds because the applicant does not provide contraception.

If funds remain after awarding grants to all local departments of health that qualify for the priority, the director may make grants to other applicants. Awards to other applicants may be made to those applicants that will offer all eight of the listed women’s health services or that will offer all of the services except contraception. No applicant shall be discriminated against in the process of awarding these grant funds because the applicant does not provide contraception.

Effective Date: 03-30-2006

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Federally qualified health center” means a health center that receives a federal public health services grant under the “Public Health Services Act,” 117 Stat. 2020, 42 U.S.C. 254b, as amended, or another health center designated by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration as a federally qualified health center.

(2) “Federally qualified health center look-alike” means a public or not-for-profit health center that meets the eligibility requirements to receive a federal public health services grant under the “Public Health Services Act,” 117 Stat. 2020, 42 U.S.C. 254b, as amended, but does not receive grant funding.

(B) The department of health may enter into an agreement with the state’s primary care association to promote the establishment of new federally qualified health centers and federally qualified health center look-alikes.

The department and the association may assist local communities and community health centers by providing grants and grant writing assistance to establish health centers as defined in 42 U.S.C. 254b, regardless of whether the health centers apply for a grant under that section.

Effective Date: 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

The director of health shall keep the public health council, health officials, and the general public fully informed in a printed annual report in regard to the work of the department of health and on the progress that is being made in studying the cause and prevention of disease and such kindred subjects as may contribute to the welfare of the people of the state.

Effective Date: 07-01-1985

The director of health and any person the director authorizes may, without fee or hindrance, enter, examine, and survey all grounds, vehicles, apartments, buildings, and places in furtherance of any duty laid upon the director or department of health or where the director has reason to believe there exists a violation of any health law or rule.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) The public health council shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code defining and classifying hospitals and dispensaries and providing for the reporting of information by hospitals and dispensaries. Except as otherwise provided in the Revised Code, the rules providing for the reporting of information shall not require inclusion of any confidential patient data or any information concerning the financial condition, income, expenses, or net worth of the facilities other than that financial information already contained in those portions of the medicare or medicaid cost report that is necessary for the department of health to certify the per diem cost under section 3701.62 of the Revised Code. The rules may require the reporting of information in the following categories:

(1) Information needed to identify and classify the institution;

(2) Information on facilities and type and volume of services provided by the institution;

(3) The number of beds listed by category of care provided;

(4) The number of licensed or certified professional employees by classification;

(5) The number of births that occurred at the institution the previous calendar year;

(6) Any other information that the council considers relevant to the safety of patients served by the institution.

Every hospital and dispensary, public or private, annually shall register with and report to the department of health. Reports shall be submitted in the manner prescribed in rules adopted under this division.

(B) Every governmental entity or private nonprofit corporation or association whose employees or representatives are defined as residents’ rights advocates under divisions (E)(1) and (2) of section 3721.10 or division (A)(10) of section 3722.01 of the Revised Code shall register with the department of health on forms furnished by the director of health and shall provide such reasonable identifying information as the director may prescribe.

The department shall compile a list of the governmental entities, corporations, or associations registering under this division and shall update the list annually. Copies of the list shall be made available to nursing home administrators as defined in division (C) of section 3721.10 of the Revised Code and to adult care facility managers as defined in section 3722.01 of the Revised Code.

(C) Every governmental entity or private nonprofit corporation or association whose employees or representatives act as residents’ rights advocates for community alternative homes pursuant to section 3724.08 of the Revised Code shall register with the department of health on forms furnished by the director of health and shall provide such reasonable identifying information as the director may prescribe.

The department shall compile a list of the governmental entities, corporations, and associations registering under this division and shall update the list annually. Copies of the list shall be made available to operators or residence managers of community alternative homes as defined in section 3724.01 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) As used in this section :

(1) “Indigent and uninsured person” has the same meaning as in section 2305.234 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Nonprofit shelter or health care facility” means a charitable nonprofit corporation organized and operated pursuant to Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code, or any charitable organization not organized and not operated for profit, that provides shelter, health care services, or shelter and health care services to indigent and uninsured persons. “Nonprofit shelter or health care facility” does not include a hospital, as defined in section 3727.01 of the Revised Code, a facility licensed under Chapter 3721. of the Revised Code, or a medical facility that is operated for profit.

(B) A nonprofit shelter or health care facility operating in this state shall register on the first day of January each year with the department of health. The immunity provided by division (E) of section 2305.234 of the Revised Code is not available to a nonprofit shelter or health care facility until the shelter or facility registers with the department in accordance with this section.

(C) A nonprofit shelter or health care facility operating in this state shall keep records of all patients who receive medical, dental, or other health-related diagnosis, care, or treatment at the shelter or facility. The department of health shall monitor the quality of care provided to patients at nonprofit shelters or health care facilities. The monitoring program may be conducted by contracting with another entity or through any other method authorized by law. The department may solicit and accept funds from private sources to fund the monitoring program.

Effective Date: 04-13-2004

(A) As used in this chapter:

(1) “Bioterrorism” has the same meaning as in section 3701.232 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Surveillance” in the public health service means the systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of health data on an ongoing basis, to gain knowledge of the pattern of disease occurrence and potential in a community in order to control and prevent disease in the community.

(3) “Trauma center” has the same meaning as in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) The public health council shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that require a trauma center to report information to the director of health describing the trauma center’s preparedness and capacity to respond to disasters, mass casualties, and bioterrorism. The council’s rules may require the reporting of any information the council considers necessary for an accurate description of a trauma center’s preparedness and capacity to respond to disasters, mass casualties, and bioterrorism. Information reported pursuant to this division is not a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(C) Upon request, the department of health shall provide a summary report of the public health council’s rules adopted pursuant to this section.

(D) The director shall review all information received pursuant to this section. After reviewing the information, the director may conduct an evaluation of a trauma center’s preparedness and capacity to respond to disasters, mass casualties, and bioterrorism. An evaluation conducted pursuant to this division is not a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) The department of health is hereby designated as the state agency responsible for administering the medicare rural hospital flexibility program, as established in 42 U.S.C. 1395i-4, as amended.

(B) The director of health shall designate as a critical access hospital a hospital registered as an acute care hospital with the department under section 3701.07 of the Revised Code if the hospital meets the following requirements:

(1) Has not more than twenty-five acute care and swing beds in use at any time for the furnishing of extended care or acute care inpatient services;

(2) Has a length of stay not more than ninety-six hours per patient, on an annual average basis;

(3) Provides inpatient, outpatient, emergency, laboratory, radiology, and twenty-four hour emergency care services;

(4) Has network agreements in place for patient referral and transfer, a communication system for telemetry systems, electronic sharing of patient data, provision for emergency and non-emergency transportation, and assures credentialing and quality assurance;

(5) Was certified as a critical access hospital by the centers for medicare and medicaid services between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2005, or is located in a rural area as identified below:

(a) An area within an Ohio metropolitan area designated as a rural area by the United States department of health and human services, office of rural health policy, in accordance with 42 C.F.R. 412.103 regarding rural urban commuting area codes four through ten in effect on the effective date of this section;

(b) A non-metropolitan county as designated in United States office of management and budget bulletin no. 93-17, June 30, 1993, and its attachments;

(c) A rural zip code within a metropolitan county as designated in United States office of management and budget bulletin no. 93-17, June 30, 1993, and its attachments.

Effective Date: 06-30-2005

The department of health constitutes the sole agency of the state for the purpose of:

(A) Making an inventory of existing hospitals and medical facilities, surveying the need for construction and modernization of hospitals and medical facilities, and developing a program of hospital and medical facilities construction and modernization as provided in sections 3701.01, 3701.04, 3701.08, 3701.09, and 3701.37 to 3701.45 of the Revised Code.

(B) Developing and administering a state plan for the construction and modernization of public and other nonprofit hospitals and medical facilities as provided in sections 3701.01, 3701.04, 3701.08, 3701.09, and 3701.37 to 3701.45 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 12-02-1996

The director of health shall make an inventory of existing hospitals and medical facilities including public, nonprofit, and proprietary hospitals and medical facilities, survey the need for construction and modernization of hospitals and medical facilities and, on the basis of such inventory and survey, develop a program for the construction and modernization of such public and other nonprofit hospitals and medical facilities as will, in conjunction with existing facilities, afford the necessary physical facilities for furnishing adequate hospital and medical facilities services to all the people of the state.

Effective Date: 09-24-1971

The director of health may require any district health commissioner to attend, immediately after his appointment, a school of instruction to be conducted by the department of health at Columbus. The course at such school of instruction shall not exceed four weeks in duration, and the necessary expenses of the commissioner in attending such school shall be paid by the district board of health upon certification from the director that such officer has attended the school.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The director of health and the secretary of the public health council shall have power to administer oaths in all parts of the state so far as the exercise of such power is incidental to the performance of the duties of the director or of the council.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The director of health may be removed from office by the governor, only upon recommendation of the public health council. Charges against the director must be submitted in writing, and, after hearing, the council must have found, by a majority vote of the entire council, such charges to be true in fact, and their nature such that, in its opinion, the best interests of the state demand such removal. A member of the council may be removed by the governor for incompetence or gross neglect of duty.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The department of health shall have supervision of all matters relating to the preservation of the life and health of the people and have ultimate authority in matters of quarantine and isolation, which it may declare and enforce, when neither exists, and modify, relax, or abolish, when either has been established. The department may approve methods of immunization against the diseases specified in section 3313.671 of the Revised Code for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of that section and take such actions as are necessary to encourage vaccination against those diseases.

The department may make special or standing orders or rules for preventing the use of fluoroscopes for nonmedical purposes which emit doses of radiation likely to be harmful to any person, for preventing the spread of contagious or infectious diseases, for governing the receipt and conveyance of remains of deceased persons, and for such other sanitary matters as are best controlled by a general rule. Whenever possible, the department shall work in cooperation with the health commissioner of a general or city health district. It may make and enforce orders in local matters when an emergency exists, or when the board of health of a general or city health district has neglected or refused to act with sufficient promptness or efficiency, or when such board has not been established as provided by sections 3709.02, 3709.03, 3709.05, 3709.06, 3709.11, 3709.12, and 3709.14 of the Revised Code. In such cases the necessary expense incurred shall be paid by the general health district or city for which the services are rendered.

The department may make evaluative studies of the nutritional status of Ohio residents, and of the food and nutrition-related programs operating within the state. Every agency of the state, at the request of the department, shall provide information and otherwise assist in the execution of such studies.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004; 05-06-2005

The director of health shall:

(A) Encourage and assist in the development of programs of education and research pertaining to the causes, detection, and treatment of sickle cell disease and provide for rehabilitation and counseling of persons possessing the trait of or afflicted with this disease;

(B) Advise, consult, cooperate with, and assist, by contract or otherwise, agencies of this state and the federal government, agencies of the governments of other states, agencies of political subdivisions of this state, and private organizations, corporations, and associations in the development and promotion of programs pertaining to the causes, detection, and treatment of sickle cell disease and rehabilitation and counseling of persons possessing the trait of or afflicted with this disease;

(C) Accept and administer grants from the federal government or other sources, public or private, for carrying out any of the functions enumerated in divisions (A) and (B) of this section;

(D) Submit a written report to the general assembly on or before the twenty-first day of August of each year outlining the receipt and disbursement of funds and the implementation and progress of various programs undertaken pursuant to this section during the preceding fiscal year.

Effective Date: 07-01-1985

The department of health is hereby designated as the state agency to administer the “special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children” established under the “Child Nutrition Act of 1966,” 80 Stat. 885, 42 U.S.C. 1786, as amended. The public health council may adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as necessary for administering the program. The rules may include civil money penalties for violations of the rules.

In determining eligibility for services provided under the program, the department may use the application form established under section 5111.013 of the Revised Code for the healthy start program. The department may require applicants to furnish their social security numbers.

If the department determines that a vendor has committed an act with respect to the program that federal statutes or regulations or state statutes or rules prohibit, the department shall take action against the vendor in the manner required by 7 C.F.R. part 246, including imposition of a civil money penalty in accordance with 7 C.F.R. 246.12, or rules adopted under this section.

Effective Date: 09-14-2000

(A) The department of health shall make available on its web site information about the risks associated with meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B, the availability of vaccines, and the effectiveness of the vaccines. The department shall provide written notice of the availability of meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B information on the web site to all of the following:

(1) Each city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district, as defined in Chapter 3311. of the Revised Code;

(2) Each nonpublic school, whether chartered, nonchartered, or nontax supported, that enrolls students in ninth grade or the equivalent educational level;

(3) Each community school created under section 3314.01 of the Revised Code, that enrolls students in ninth grade or the equivalent educational level;

(4) Each state institution of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code;

(5) Each nonprofit institution of higher education, as defined in section 1713.55 of the Revised Code;

(6) Each private career school, as defined in section 3332.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) In addition to the information provided for in division (A) of this section, the department of health shall make available on its web site, in a format suitable for downloading, a meningitis and hepatitis B vaccination status statement form for a student or, if the student is younger than eighteen years of age, the student’s parent, to complete to disclose whether the student has been vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B. The form shall include all of the following:

(1) The information described in division (A) of this section and a means for the student or the student’s parent to acknowledge having received and read the information;

(2) A space for the student or the student’s parent to indicate one of the following:

(a) The student has been vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis, and the year the vaccination was given.

(b) The student has not been vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis.

(3) A space for the student or the student’s parent to indicate one of the following:

(a) The student has been vaccinated against hepatitis B, and the year the vaccination was given.

(b) The student has not been vaccinated against hepatitis B.

Effective Date: 07-14-2004

To the extent appropriations made by the general assembly make this possible, the director of health shall provide, for the purpose of section 3313.671 of the Revised Code, the means of immunization against chicken pox to boards of health, legislative authorities of municipal corporations, and boards of township trustees.

Effective Date: 05-06-2005

(A) The autism diagnosis education pilot program is hereby established in the department of health. The program shall have the following goals:

(1) To educate health care professionals, teachers and other educational personnel, child care providers, parents, early intervention and developmental disabilities providers, and other community-based services providers in this state regarding the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders, including the range of symptoms that may indicate autism spectrum disorders and screening tools;

(2) To promote appropriate standards for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders in children, including screening tools and treatment planning for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders;

(3) To encourage physicians and other health care professionals with expertise in screening, diagnosing, and treating autism spectrum disorders to share that information with other health care professionals in this state;

(4) To encourage the regional coordination of services to facilitate the effective, timely treatment of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.

(B) The director of health shall contract with a statewide association representing pediatric physicians to conduct or administer the autism diagnosis education pilot program.

Effective Date: 2007 HB119 06-30-2007

(A) The director of health shall investigate or make inquiry as to the cause of disease or illness, including contagious, infectious, epidemic, pandemic, or endemic conditions, and take prompt action to control and suppress it. The reports of births and deaths, the sanitary conditions and effects of localities and employments, the personal and business habits of the people that affect their health, and the relation of the diseases of man and beast, shall be subjects of study by the director. The director may make and execute orders necessary to protect the people against diseases of lower animals, and shall collect and preserve information in respect to such matters and kindred subjects as may be useful in the discharge of the director’s duties, and for dissemination among the people. When called upon by the state or local governments, or the board of health of a general or city health district, the director shall promptly investigate and report upon the water supply, sewerage, disposal of excreta of any locality, and the heating, plumbing, and ventilation of a public building.

(B) Information obtained during an investigation or inquiry that the director currently is conducting pursuant to division (A) of this section and that is not yet complete is confidential during the course of that investigation or inquiry and shall not be released except pursuant to division (D) or (J) of this section or under one of the following conditions:

(1) The confidential information is released pursuant to a search warrant or subpoena issued by or at the request of a grand jury or prosecutor, as defined in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) The director has entered into a written agreement to share or exchange the information with a person or government entity, and that agreement requires the person or entity to comply with the confidentiality requirements established under this section.

(3) The information is contained in a preliminary report released by the director pursuant to division (G)(1) of this section.

(C) Division (B) of this section applies during any investigation or inquiry the director makes pursuant to division (A) of this section, notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code that establishes the manner of maintaining confidentiality or the release of information, except that the confidentiality and release of protected health information under section 3701.17 of the Revised Code is governed by that section.

(D) Nothing in this section bars the release of information that is in summary, statistical, or aggregate form and that does not identify a person. Information that is in summary, statistical, or aggregate form and that does not identify a person is a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(E) Nothing in this section authorizes the director to conduct an independent criminal investigation without the consent of each local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction to conduct the criminal investigation.

(F) Except for information released pursuant to division (G) or (J) of this section, any disclosure pursuant to this section shall be in writing and accompanied by a written statement that includes the following or substantially similar language: “This information has been disclosed to you from confidential records protected from disclosure by state law. If this information has been released to you in other than a summary, statistical, or aggregate form, you shall make no further disclosure of this information without the specific, written, and informed release of the person to whom it pertains, or as otherwise permitted by state law. A general authorization for the release of medical or other information is not sufficient for the release of information pursuant to this section.”

(G)(1) If an investigation or inquiry the director currently is conducting pursuant to division (A) of this section is not completed within six months after the date of commencement, the director shall prepare and release a report containing preliminary findings. Every six months thereafter, the director shall prepare and release a supplementary preliminary report until such time as the investigation or inquiry is completed.

(2) Upon completion of an investigation or inquiry conducted pursuant to division (A) of this section, the director shall prepare and release a final report containing the director’s findings.

(H) No report prepared by the director pursuant to this section shall contain protected health information, as defined in section 3701.17 of the Revised Code.

(I) The director shall adopt, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, rules establishing the manner in which the reports prepared by the director pursuant to this section are to be released.

(J) The director shall release information obtained during an investigation or inquiry that the director currently is conducting pursuant to division (A) of this section and that is not yet complete, if the director determines the release of the information is necessary, based on an evaluation of relevant information, to avert or mitigate a clear threat to an individual or to the public health. Information released pursuant to this division shall be limited to the release of the information to those persons necessary to control, prevent, or mitigate disease or illness.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) There is hereby created in the department of health the women’s health program, .

(B) To the extent funds are available, the women’s health program shall:

(1) Identify, review, and assist the director in the coordination of programs and resources the department of health is committing to women’s health concerns, including the department’s women’s and infants’ program activities;

(2) Advocate for women’s health by requesting that the department conduct, sponsor, encourage, or fund research; establish additional programs regarding women’s health concerns as needed; and monitor the research and program efforts;

(3) Collect, classify, and store relevant research conducted by the department or other entities, and provide, unless otherwise prohibited by law, interested persons access to research results;

(4) Apply for grant opportunities.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003

Effective Date: 06-26-2003

For purposes of sections 1547.11, 4511.19, and 4511.194 of the Revised Code, the director of health shall determine, or cause to be determined, techniques or methods for chemically analyzing a person’s whole blood, blood serum or plasma, urine, breath, or other bodily substance in order to ascertain the amount of alcohol, a drug of abuse, controlled substance, metabolite of a controlled substance, or combination of them in the person’s whole blood, blood serum or plasma, urine, breath, or other bodily substance. The director shall approve satisfactory techniques or methods, ascertain the qualifications of individuals to conduct such analyses, and issue permits to qualified persons authorizing them to perform such analyses. Such permits shall be subject to termination or revocation at the discretion of the director.

As used in this section, “drug of abuse” has the same meaning as in section 4506.01 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 04-16-1993; 08-17-2006

Effective Date: 06-26-2003

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

(A) In taking actions regarding tuberculosis, the director of health has all of the following duties and powers:

(1) The director shall maintain registries of hospitals, clinics, physicians, or other care providers to whom the director shall refer persons who make inquiries to the department of health regarding possible exposure to tuberculosis.

(2) The director shall engage in tuberculosis surveillance activities, including the collection and analysis of epidemiological information relative to the frequency of tuberculosis infection, demographic and geographic distribution of tuberculosis cases, and trends pertaining to tuberculosis.

(3) The director shall maintain a tuberculosis registry to record the incidence of tuberculosis in this state.

(4) The director may appoint physicians to serve as tuberculosis consultants for geographic regions of the state specified by the director. Each tuberculosis consultant shall act in accordance with rules the director establishes and shall be responsible for advising and assisting physicians and other health care practitioners who participate in tuberculosis control activities and for reviewing medical records pertaining to the treatment provided to individuals with tuberculosis.

(B)(1) The public health council shall adopt rules establishing standards for the following:

(a) Performing tuberculosis screenings;

(b) Performing examinations of individuals who have been exposed to tuberculosis and individuals who are suspected of having tuberculosis;

(c) Providing treatment to individuals with tuberculosis;

(d) Preventing individuals with communicable tuberculosis from infecting other individuals;

(e) Performing laboratory tests for tuberculosis and studies of the resistance of tuberculosis to one or more drugs;

(f) Selecting laboratories that provide in a timely fashion the results of a laboratory test for tuberculosis. The standards shall include a requirement that first consideration be given to laboratories located in this state.

(2) Rules adopted pursuant to this section shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code and may be consistent with any recommendations or guidelines on tuberculosis issued by the United States centers for disease control and prevention or by the American thoracic society. The rules shall apply to county or district tuberculosis control units, physicians who examine and treat individuals for tuberculosis, and laboratories that perform tests for tuberculosis.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004; 06-30-2005

Each year, the director of health shall make a report to the governor, which shall include so much of the proceedings of the department of health, information concerning vital statistics and diseases, instructions on the subject of hygiene for dissemination among the people and suggestions as to legislation as the director deems proper. The director shall include in the director’s annual report a full statement of all examinations made in the department’s public health laboratory authorized by section 3701.22 of the Revised Code, with a detailed account of all expenses.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

The director of health may purchase, store, and distribute antitoxins, serums, vaccines, immunizing agents, antibiotics, and other pharmaceutical agents or medical supplies that the director deems advisable in the interest of preparing for or responding to a public health emergency. The discretion granted to the director by this section does not relieve the director of the duty to act under section 3701.161 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

The director of health shall make necessary arrangements for the production and distribution of diphtheria antitoxin. Such antitoxin shall in all respects be equal in purity and potency to the standard of requirements of the United States public health service for antitoxin for interstate commerce. Diphtheria antitoxin shall be distributed in accordance with rules the public health council adopts pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

Any licensed physician practicing in this state, or the superintendent of any state or county institution, may receive without charge the quantities of antitoxin as the physician or superintendent requires for the treatment or prevention of diphtheria in indigent persons, provided such antitoxin shall be used only for persons residing in the state, and that a sufficient supply is available for distribution.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Prosecutor” has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Protected health information” means information, in any form, including oral, written, electronic, visual, pictorial, or physical that describes an individual’s past, present, or future physical or mental health status or condition, receipt of treatment or care, or purchase of health products, if either of the following applies:

(a) The information reveals the identity of the individual who is the subject of the information.

(b) The information could be used to reveal the identity of the individual who is the subject of the information, either by using the information alone or with other information that is available to predictable recipients of the information.

(B) Protected health information reported to or obtained by the director of health, the department of health, or a board of health of a city or general health district is confidential and shall not be released without the written consent of the individual who is the subject of the information unless the information is released pursuant to division (C) of this section or one of the following applies:

(1) The release of the information is necessary to provide treatment to the individual and the information is released pursuant to a written agreement that requires the recipient of the information to comply with the confidentiality requirements established under this section.

(2) The release of the information is necessary to ensure the accuracy of the information and the information is released pursuant to a written agreement that requires the recipient of the information to comply with the confidentiality requirements established under this section.

(3) The information is released pursuant to a search warrant or subpoena issued by or at the request of a grand jury or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation or prosecution.

(4) The director determines the release of the information is necessary, based on an evaluation of relevant information, to avert or mitigate a clear threat to an individual or to the public health. Information may be released pursuant to this division only to those persons or entities necessary to control, prevent, or mitigate disease.

(C) Information that does not identify an individual is not protected health information and may be released in summary, statistical, or aggregate form. Information that is in a summary, statistical, or aggregate form and that does not identify an individual is a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code and, upon request, shall be released by the director.

(D) Except for information released pursuant to division (B)(4) of this section, any disclosure pursuant to this section shall be in writing and accompanied by a written statement that includes the following or substantially similar language: “This information has been disclosed to you from confidential records protected from disclosure by state law. If this information has been released to you in other than a summary, statistical, or aggregate form, you shall make no further disclosure of this information without the specific, written, and informed release of the individual to whom it pertains, or as otherwise permitted by state law. A general authorization for the release of medical or other information is not sufficient for the release of information pursuant to this section.”

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

The director of health shall establish techniques and procedures as appropriate for use by the division of parks and recreation in the department of natural resources when taking samples and conducting tests under section 1541.032 of the Revised Code of the waters of this state that are adjacent to public swimming beaches as defined in that section. The director of health, in consultation with and subject to the approval of the director of natural resources, shall specify the frequency with which and location at which the waters are to be sampled and tested.

The director shall interpret the results of the water tests conducted under section 1541.032 of the Revised Code. If the director’s interpretation indicates that the bacteria levels in the waters tested present a possible health risk to persons using the waters for swimming and bathing and that the posting of signs advising the public of the condition is warranted, the director shall notify the chief of the division of parks and recreation.

Effective Date: 03-09-1999

Effective Date: 07-07-1993

As used in sections 3701.19 to 3701.201 of the Revised Code:

(A) “Poison prevention and treatment center” means an entity designated as a poison prevention and treatment center by the director of health under section 3701.20 of the Revised Code.

(B) “Harm” means injury, death, or loss to person or property.

(C) “Tort action” means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property. “Tort action” includes a product liability claim that is subject to sections 2307.71 to 2307.80 of the Revised Code, but does not include a civil action for a breach of contract or another agreement between persons.

(D)(1) Subject to division (D)(2) of this section, “volunteer” means a trustee, officer, or agent of a poison prevention and treatment center, or another person associated with such a center, who satisfies both of the following:

(a) Performs services for or on behalf of, and under the authority or auspices of, the center;

(b) Does not receive compensation, either directly or indirectly, for performing those services.

(2) For purposes of division (D)(1) of this section, “compensation” does not include any of the following:

(a) Actual and necessary expenses that are incurred by a volunteer in connection with the services performed for a center, and that are reimbursed to the volunteer or otherwise paid;

(b) Insurance premiums paid on behalf of a volunteer, and amounts paid or reimbursed, pursuant to division (E) of section 1702.12 of the Revised Code;

(c) Modest perquisites.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) In accordance with rules adopted by the public health council, under division (C) of this section, the director of health shall establish, promote, and maintain the Ohio poison control network; designate regions within the network; and designate poison prevention and treatment centers within each region. The purposes of the network are to:

(1) Reduce the mortality resulting from and the expenditures incurred because of accidental, homicidal, suicidal, occupational, or environmental poisoning;

(2) Educate the public and health care professionals concerning the prevention and treatment of exposure to poison;

(3) Organize poison prevention and treatment activities on a regional basis to avoid duplication and waste.

(B) To be eligible for designation as a poison prevention and treatment center and to retain the designation, a center must maintain compliance with the standards established by the public health council pursuant to division (C) of this section. A poison prevention and treatment center may be operated by an individual, hospital, institution of higher education, political subdivision, association, corporation, or public or private agency.

(C) In accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the public health council shall adopt rules that do the following:

(1) Establish guidelines, based on population density and other relevant factors, and procedures to be followed by the director of health in designating poison control network regions and centers;

(2) Establish standards for the operation of poison prevention and treatment centers;

(3) Establish standards and procedures to be followed by the director of health in making grants to poison prevention and treatment centers;

(4) Establish procedures, other than those prescribed by Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, for reconsideration, at the request of the entity affected, of the denial or revocation of a designation as a poison prevention and treatment center.

(D) In accordance with rules adopted by the public health council, the director of health shall make grants to poison prevention and treatment centers. A center is not eligible for a grant unless, prior to receiving the grant, the entity that operates the center agrees in writing that the level of the total funds, labor, and services devoted by the entity to the center during the period of the grant will approximate, as determined by the director of health, the level of the total funds, labor, and services devoted to the center by that entity in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the grant begins.

(E) Each poison prevention and treatment center shall do all of the following:

(1) Maintain and staff a twenty-four-hour per day, toll-free, telephone line to respond to inquiries and provide information about poison prevention and treatment and available services;

(2) Provide specialized treatment, consultation, information, and educational programs to health care professionals and the public;

(3) Compile information on the types and frequency of treatment it provides.

A center may provide the services described in divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this section either directly or through contract with other facilities, as the director of health considers appropriate. Each center shall take measures to ensure the confidentiality of information about individuals to whom treatment or services are provided.

(F) The director of health may revoke the designation of a poison treatment and control center, or deny an application for designation, if the center or applicant fails to meet or maintain the standards established by rule of the public health council. The entity seeking the designation may have the revocation or denial reconsidered in accordance with rules adopted by the public health council.

(G)(1) A poison prevention and treatment center, its officers, employees, volunteers, or other persons associated with the center, and a person, organization, or institution that advises or assists a poison prevention and treatment center are not liable in damages in a tort action for harm that allegedly arises from advice or assistance rendered to any person unless the advice or assistance is given in a manner that constitutes willful or wanton misconduct or intentionally tortious conduct.

(2) This section does not create, and shall not be construed as creating, a new cause of action or substantive legal right against a poison prevention and treatment center, its officers, employees, volunteers, or other persons associated with the center, or a person, organization, or institution that advises or assists a poison prevention and treatment center.

(3) This section does not affect, and shall not be construed as affecting, any immunities from civil liability or defenses conferred by any other section of the Revised Code or available at common law, to which a poison prevention and treatment center, its officers, employees, volunteers, or other persons associated with the center or a person, organization, or institution that advises or assists a poison prevention and treatment center may be entitled under circumstances not specified by this section.

(H) The director shall annually report to the general assembly findings and recommendations concerning the effectiveness, impact, and benefits of the poison prevention and treatment centers.

Effective Date: 10-30-1989

(A) As used in this section, “bioterrorism” has the same meaning as in section 3701.232 of the Revised Code.

(B) The public health council shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code under which a poison prevention and treatment center or other health-related entity is required to report events that may be caused by bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or established or novel infectious agents or biological or chemical toxins posing a risk of human fatality or disability. Rules adopted under this section may require a report of any of the following:

(1) An unexpected pattern or increase in the number of telephone inquiries or requests to provide information about poison prevention and treatment and available services;

(2) An unexpected pattern or increase in the number of requests to provide specialized treatment, consultation, information, and educational programs to health care professionals and the public;

(3) An unexpected pattern or increase in the number of requests for information on established or novel infectious agents or biological or chemical toxins posing a risk of human fatality or disability that is relatively uncommon and may have been caused by bioterrorism.

(C) Each poison prevention and treatment center and other health-related entity shall comply with any reporting requirement established in rules adopted under division (B) of this section.

(D) Information reported under this section that is protected health information pursuant to section 3701.17 of the Revised Code shall be released only in accordance with that section. Information that does not identify an individual may be released in summary, statistical, or aggregate form.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Amblyopia” means reduced vision in an eye that has not received adequate use during early childhood.

(2) “501(c) organization” means an organization exempt from federal income taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C.A. 501(a) and (c).

(B) There is hereby created in the state treasury the save our sight fund. The fund shall consist of voluntary contributions deposited as provided in section 4503.104 of the Revised Code. All investment earnings from the fund shall be credited to the fund.

(C) The director of health shall use the money in the save our sight fund as follows:

(1) To provide support to 501(c) organizations that offer vision services in all counties of the state and have demonstrated experience in the delivery of vision services to do one or more of the following:

(a) Implement a voluntary children’s vision screening training and certification program for volunteers, child care providers, nurses, teachers, health care professionals practicing in primary care settings, and others serving children;

(b) Provide materials for the program implemented under division (C)(1)(a) of this section;

(c) Develop and implement a registry and targeted voluntary case management system to determine whether children with amblyopia are receiving professional eye care and to provide their parents with information and support regarding their child’s vision care;

(d) Establish a matching grant program for the purchase and distribution of protective eyewear to children;

(e) Provide vision health and safety programs and materials for classrooms.

(2) For the purpose of section 4503.104 of the Revised Code, to develop and distribute informational materials on the importance of eye care and safety to the registrar of motor vehicles and each deputy registrar;

(3) To pay costs incurred by the director in administering the fund;

(4) To reimburse the bureau of motor vehicles for the administrative costs incurred in performing its duties under section 4503.104 of the Revised Code.

(D) A 501(c) organization seeking funding from the save our sight fund for any of the projects specified in division (C) of this section shall submit a request for the funding to the director in accordance with rules adopted under division (E) of this section. The director shall determine the appropriateness of and approve or disapprove projects for funding and approve or disapprove the disbursement of money from the save our sight fund.

(E) The public health council shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to implement this section. The rules shall include the parameters of the projects specified in division (C)(1) of this section that may be funded with money in the save our sight fund and procedures for 501(c) organizations to request funding from the fund.

Effective Date: 07-01-1999; 05-18-2005

The department of health shall maintain a public health laboratory for the following:

(A) Examination of public water supplies and the effluent of sewage purification works;

(B) Diagnosis of, screening for, or confirmation of diseases or pathogens as it deems necessary;

(C) Performance of biological, chemical, or radiological analyses or examinations as it deems necessary;

(D) Analysis of patient specimens and food samples necessary for investigation of foodborne illnesses. In foodborne illness investigations, the laboratory shall cooperate and consult with the director of agriculture acting pursuant to section 3715.02 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) The director of health shall have charge of the public health laboratory authorized by section 3701.22 of the Revised Code. The director may employ an assistant for the laboratory who shall be a person skilled in chemistry and bacteriology, and receive compensation as the director determines. All expenses of the laboratory shall be paid from appropriations made for the department of health.

(B) The public health council, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt, and may amend or rescind, rules establishing reasonable fees for services the laboratory performs. The council need not prescribe fees where the council believes that charging fees would significantly and adversely affect the public health. All fees collected for services the laboratory performs shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the “laboratory handling fee fund,” which is hereby created for the purpose of defraying expenses of operating the laboratory.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) As used in this section, “health care provider” means any person or government entity that provides health care services to individuals. “Health care provider” includes, but is not limited to, hospitals, medical clinics and offices, special care facilities, medical laboratories, physicians, pharmacists, dentists, physician assistants, registered and licensed practical nurses, laboratory technicians, emergency medical service organization personnel, and ambulance service organization personnel.

(B) Boards of health, health authorities or officials, health care providers in localities in which there are no health authorities or officials, and coroners or medical examiners shall report promptly to the department of health the existence of any of the following:

(1) Asiatic cholera;

(2) Yellow fever;

(3) Diphtheria;

(4) Typhus or typhoid fever;

(5) As specified by the public health council, other contagious or infectious diseases, illnesses, health conditions, or unusual infectious agents or biological toxins posing a risk of human fatality or disability.

(C) No person shall fail to comply with the reporting requirements established under division (B) of this section.

(D) The reports required by this section shall be submitted on forms, as required by statute or rule, and in the manner the director of health prescribes.

(E) Information reported under this section that is protected health information pursuant to section 3701.17 of the Revised Code shall be released only in accordance with that section. Information that does not identify an individual may be released in summary, statistical, or aggregate form.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

If a medical laboratory outside this state performs a test or other diagnostic or investigative analysis that results in information pertaining to a resident of this state that must be reported under section 3701.23 or 3707.06 of the Revised Code, the entity using the laboratory shall ensure that the laboratory complies with reporting and confidentiality requirements and shall verify to the director of health that the laboratory complies with reporting and confidentiality requirements. The director shall establish procedures by which an entity may verify the laboratory’s compliance.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) As used in this section:

(1) “Bioterrorism” means the intentional use of any microorganism, virus, infectious substance, or biological product that may be engineered as a result of biotechnology, or any naturally occurring or bioengineered component of a microorganism, virus, infectious substance, or biological product, to cause death, disease, or other biological malfunction in a human, animal, plant, or other living organism as a means of influencing the conduct of government or intimidating or coercing a population.

(2) “Pharmacist” means an individual licensed under Chapter 4729. of the Revised Code to engage in the practice of pharmacy as a pharmacist.

(3) “Pharmacy” and “prescription” have the same meanings as in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) The public health council shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code under which a pharmacy or pharmacist is required to report significant changes in medication usage that may be caused by bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or established or novel infectious agents or biological toxins posing a risk of human fatality or disability. Rules adopted under this section may require a report of any of the following:

(1) An unexpected increase in the number of prescriptions for antibiotics;

(2) An unexpected increase in the number of prescriptions for medication to treat fever or respiratory or gastrointestinal complaints;

(3) An unexpected increase in sales of, or the number of requests for information on, over-the-counter medication to treat fever or respiratory or gastrointestinal complaints;

(4) Any prescription for medication used to treat a disease that is relatively uncommon and may have been caused by bioterrorism.

(C) No person shall fail to comply with any reporting requirement established in rules adopted under division (B) of this section.

(D) Information reported under this section that is protected health information pursuant to section 3701.17 of the Revised Code shall be released only in accordance with that section. Information that does not identify an individual may be released in summary, statistical, or aggregate form.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) As used in this section and sections 3701.241 to 3701.249 of the Revised Code:

(1) “AIDS” means the illness designated as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

(2) “HIV” means the human immunodeficiency virus identified as the causative agent of AIDS.

(3) “AIDS-related condition” means symptoms of illness related to HIV infection, including AIDS-related complex, that are confirmed by a positive HIV test.

(4) “HIV test” means any test for the antibody or antigen to HIV that has been approved by the director of health under division (B) of section 3701.241 of the Revised Code.

(5) “Health care facility” has the same meaning as in section 1751.01 of the Revised Code.

(6) “Director” means the director of health or any employee of the department of health acting on the director’s behalf.

(7) “Physician” means a person who holds a current, valid certificate issued under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code authorizing the practice of medicine or surgery and osteopathic medicine and surgery.

(8) “Nurse” means a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse who holds a license or certificate issued under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code.

(9) “Anonymous test” means an HIV test administered so that the individual to be tested can give informed consent to the test and receive the results by means of a code system that does not link the identity of the individual tested to the request for the test or the test results.

(10) “Confidential test” means an HIV test administered so that the identity of the individual tested is linked to the test but is held in confidence to the extent provided by sections 3701.24 to 3701.248 of the Revised Code.

(11) “Health care provider” means an individual who provides diagnostic, evaluative, or treatment services. Pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the public health council may adopt rules further defining the scope of the term “health care provider.”

(12) “Significant exposure to body fluids” means a percutaneous or mucous membrane exposure of an individual to the blood, semen, vaginal secretions, or spinal, synovial, pleural, peritoneal, pericardial, or amniotic fluid of another individual.

(13) “Emergency medical services worker” means all of the following:

(a) A peace officer;

(b) An employee of an emergency medical service organization as defined in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code;

(c) A firefighter employed by a political subdivision;

(d) A volunteer firefighter, emergency operator, or rescue operator;

(e) An employee of a private organization that renders rescue services, emergency medical services, or emergency medical transportation to accident victims and persons suffering serious illness or injury.

(14) “Peace officer” has the same meaning as in division (A) of section 109.71 of the Revised Code, except that it also includes a sheriff and the superintendent and troopers of the state highway patrol.

(B) Persons designated by rule adopted by the public health council under section 3701.241 of the Revised Code shall report promptly every case of AIDS, every AIDS-related condition, and every confirmed positive HIV test to the department of health on forms and in a manner prescribed by the director. In each county the director shall designate the health commissioner of a health district in the county to receive the reports.

(C) No person shall fail to comply with the reporting requirements established under division (B) of this section.

(D) Information reported under this section that identifies an individual is confidential and may be released only with the written consent of the individual except as the director determines necessary to ensure the accuracy of the information, as necessary to provide treatment to the individual, as ordered by a court pursuant to section 3701.243 or 3701.247 of the Revised Code, or pursuant to a search warrant or a subpoena issued by or at the request of a grand jury, prosecuting attorney, city director of law or similar chief legal officer of a municipal corporation, or village solicitor, in connection with a criminal investigation or prosecution. Information that does not identify an individual may be released in summary, statistical, or aggregate form.

Effective Date: 02-12-2004

(A) The director of health shall develop and administer the following:

(1) A surveillance system to determine the number of cases of AIDS and the HIV infection rate in various population groups;

(2) Counseling and testing programs for groups determined by the director to be at risk of HIV infection, including procedures for both confidential and anonymous tests, counseling training programs for health care providers, and development of counseling guidelines;

(3) A confidential partner notification system to alert and counsel sexual contacts of individuals with HIV infection;

(4) Risk reduction and education programs for groups determined by the director to be at risk of HIV infection, and, in consultation with a wide range of community leaders, education programs for the public;

(5) Pilot programs for the long-term care of individuals with AIDS or AIDS-related condition, including care in nursing homes and in alternative settings;

(6) Programs to expand regional outpatient treatment of individuals with AIDS or AIDS-related condition;

(7) A program to assist communities, including communities of less than one hundred thousand population, in establishing AIDS task forces and support groups for individuals with AIDS, AIDS-related condition, and HIV infection. The program may include the award of grants if they are matched by local funds.

Information obtained or maintained under the