(1) All information and records held by the department or its authorized representatives relating to known or suspected cases of tuberculosis or exposure to tuberculosis shall be strictly confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1). Such information shall not be released or made public by the department or its authorized representatives or by a court or parties to a lawsuit, except that release may be made under the following circumstances:

(a) When made with the consent of all persons to which the information applies;

(b) When made for statistical purposes, and medical or epidemiologic information is summarized so that no person can be identified and no names are revealed;

(c) When made to medical personnel, appropriate state agencies, or courts of appropriate jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this chapter and related rules;

(d) When made in a medical emergency but only to the extent necessary to protect the health or life of a named person or group of persons; or

(e) When made to the proper authorities as required by chapter 39 or chapter 415.

(2) When disclosure is made pursuant to a subpoena, such information shall be sealed by the court from further disclosure, except as deemed necessary by the court to reach a decision in the proceeding, unless otherwise agreed to by all parties. Such information is exempt from s. 119.07(1).

(3) No employee of the department or its authorized representatives shall be examined in a civil, criminal, special, or other proceeding as to the existence or contents of pertinent records of a person examined or treated for tuberculosis by the department or its authorized representatives, or of the existence or contents of such reports received from a private physician or private health facility or laboratory, without the consent of the person examined or treated for tuberculosis, except in proceedings under s. 392.55, s. 392.56, or s. 392.57.

History.—s. 1, ch. 88-389; s. 1, ch. 88-398; s. 13, ch. 90-344; s. 205, ch. 96-406; s. 139, ch. 98-403.