39-4803. IMMUNIZATION REGISTRY. (1) The department of health and welfare shall provide for the establishment of a voluntary registry of the immunization status of Idaho children against childhood diseases. The registry shall be maintained and its data disclosed as set out herein to further the following purposes:

(a) To make immunizations readily available to every Idaho citizen that desires to have their child immunized;

(b) To increase the voluntary immunization rate in Idaho to the maximum extent possible without mandating such immunizations;

(c) To recognize and respect the rights of parents and guardians to make health care decisions for their children; and

(d) To provide for timely reminders to parents of children in the registry.

(2) The name of a child and information relating to the immunization status of that child shall be collected and included in the registry unless a parent, guardian or other person legally responsible for the care of the child chooses not to have the child included in the registry upon a specified written statement. Such statement may not be part of a general authorization or release. The registry shall contain the following information for each child:

(a) The child’s name, address and birth date;

(b) The name and address of each parent of the child;

(c) The month, day, year and type of each immunization that has been administered to the child;

(d) The name, address and phone number of each provider that has administered an immunization to the child;

(e) If requested by a parent or guardian, any statement made pursuant to subsection (4) of this section; and

(f) Other information as authorized or requested by a parent or guardian.

(3) The department of health and welfare shall only disclose information relating to an individual child in the registry to the following upon a specific request:

(a) Employees of the health district in which the child resides or seeks medical services;

(b) Health records staff of the school or school district in which the child is enrolled;

(c) The operator of a licensed daycare facility in which the child is enrolled;

(d) Persons who are legally responsible for the long-term care of the child, including operators of licensed ICF/ID’s and residential or assisted living facilities, adoptive and foster parents and a guardian appointed pursuant to chapter 5, title 15, Idaho Code;

(e) Any health care provider rendering treatment to the child, and the provider’s agents;

(f) Any person possessing a lawful release, properly executed by the child’s parent or guardian;

(g) A parent of the child;

(h) Any hospital where the child is receiving care; or

(i) The Idaho health data exchange.

(4) A parent or guardian of the child shall have free and open access to all information in the registry that relates to their child or themselves. Upon the written request of a parent or guardian, the department of health and welfare shall:

(a) Cause all information relating to the child to be removed from the registry;

(b) Include in the registry the statement of a physician or parent pursuant to section 39-4802(2) or 39-1118(2), Idaho Code.

(5) All information contained in the registry or disclosed from it is confidential and may not be sold and may only be disclosed as specifically authorized in this section. A person or entity to whom information is disclosed from the registry may not thereafter disclose it to others except in accordance with state and federal laws applicable to the use of protected health information. Any person who discloses or authorizes disclosure of any information contained in the registry, except as authorized in this section, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable for civil damages in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) for each violation.

History:

[39-4803, added 1999, ch. 347, sec. 1, p. 927; am. 2000, ch. 274, sec. 118, p. 855; am. 2010, ch. 235, sec. 28, p. 566; am. 2010, ch. 336, sec. 1, p. 889; am. 2015, ch. 253, sec. 1, p. 1057.]