Section 521.15a - Confidentiality provisions during disaster emergency.(a) Upon a proclamation of disaster emergency issued or renewed by the Governor due to a communicable disease infectious through aerosolized transmission, and continuing until sixty (60) days after the expiration or termination of the proclamation of disaster emergency by executive order, proclamation or operation of law, the following confidentiality provisions shall apply to information collected or maintained as a result of the proclamation of disaster emergency: (1) The department or local boards or departments of health shall release , within twenty-four (24) hours of receiving information of a confirmed case of the communicable disease infectious through aerosolized transmission subject to the disaster emergency, the address of the confirmed case to a public safety answering point as defined in 35 Pa.C.S. § 5302 (relating to definitions). The public safety answering point shall provide the address to law enforcement officers, fire department personnel and emergency medical services personnel. Recipients of the address information under this clause shall only use the information for the purpose of notifying law enforcement officers, fire department personnel and emergency medical services personnel that there has been a case of the communicable disease infectious through aerosolized transmission subject to the disaster emergency at the address to which the law enforcement officers, fire department personnel and emergency medical services personnel have been called to perform an essential job function. Law enforcement officers, fire department personnel and emergency medical services personnel may not use or disclose address information for any purpose other than to carry out an essential job function at the given address.
(2) The department or local boards or departments of health shall release, within twenty-four (24) hours of receiving information of a confirmed case of the communicable disease infectious through aerosolized transmission subject to the disaster emergency, the address of the confirmed case of the communicable disease subject to the disaster emergency to coroners and medical examiners in a manner prescribed by the department. Recipients of the address information under this clause shall only use the information for the purpose of notifying staff that there has been a case of the communicable disease infectious through aerosolized transmission subject to the disaster emergency at the address to which the coroner, medical examiner or staff have been called to perform an essential job function. Coroners, medical examiners and staff receiving this data may not use or disclose address information for any purpose other than to carry out an essential job function at the given address provided under section 1218-B of the act of August 9, 1955 ( P.L. 323, No.130), known as the County Code.(3) The department may disclose additional information determined to be essential to protecting public health and safety and to prevent the spread of the communicable disease infectious through aerosolized transmission subject to disaster emergency on the factors that determine the basic reproduction number or R-naught (R0) of the communicable disease. In determining the additional factors to disclose, the department shall consider all of the following:(i) Requests for data from the General Assembly, including, but not limited to, areas of heightened risk to the residents of this Commonwealth.(ii) The factors that contribute to the increased risk of contracting the communicable disease infectious through aerosolized transmission for an individual due to age, gender, race, area of residency or connection to a health care facility, school or place of employment, population density or other factors.(iii) Applicable Federal and State privacy and confidentiality requirements, including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ( Public Law 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936). (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this section shall not apply to cities and counties of the first class for the duration of the period of proclamation of disaster emergency issued by the Governor on March 6, 2020, published at 50 Pa.B. 1644 (March 21, 2020), and any renewal of the state of disaster emergency.Added by P.L. TBD 2020 No. 112, § 3, eff. 11/3/2020.