councils or bodies, and (3) action taken or opinions expressed by individual members of such councils, bodies, committees or panels shall not be disclosed except as may be authorized by the Surgeon General with the assent of the council or advisory body involved. In addition, if the council or other advisory body so recommends, disclosure of its final conclusions on any subject considered by it may be prohibited by the Surgeon General. (c) The following types of information in the records or possession of the Service are confidential and, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, shall be disclosed only as necessary for the performance of the functions of the Service, or as follows: (1) Information concerning individuals, business enterprises, or public or private agencies obtained by the Service in connection with communicable disease control, water pollution control, licensing of biological products or the manufacture of such products, or with other regulatory functions of the Service may be disclosed to Federal, State or local authorities carrying on related governmental functions to the extent necessary to carry out such related functions. (2) Information and data obtained and tentative and final conclusions reached in course of or in connection with the conduct of research projects, surveys and investigations may be disclosed at such times and to such extent as the Surgeon General or his designee may determine to be in the public interest. (3) Information obtained in connection with applications for employment, fellowships, traineeships or commissions or for research or other grants and information obtained for similar purposes may be disclosed upon consent of the person concerned. § 1.104 Disclosure upon court or other official order Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, information in the records or in the possession of the Service, except information described in § 1.103 (a) and (b) and information the disclosure of which the Surgeon General determines would impair national security, shall be disclosed upon the order of a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction or of a responsible officer of any agency or body having power to compel appearances before it: Provided, however, That (a) clinical information shall be disclosed only in accord with applicable local law regarding the confidentiality of communications to physicians as expressly determined by the court, agency or body, and (b) in the case of an order requiring production of records other than to the court, agency or body involved, the Surgeon General or his designee may determine, in the light of the need to assure the integrity and safety of the records or the efficient administration of the Service, that the records shall be made available for examination or copying at such place as may be designated by him. § 1.105 Disclosure to officers and employees of the Service No provision of this part shall be deemed to forbid any officer or employee of the Service to disclose any information to any other officer or employee of the Service in the course of official business. § 1.106 Response to subpoena or other compulsory process If any officer or employee of the Service is sought to be required, by subpoena or other compulsory process, to produce records of the Service or to disclose any information described in § 1.102 or § 1.103, he shall respond, call attention to the provisions of this part, and respectfully decline to produce records or disclose information inconsistent with such provisions: Provided, That where a patient (or, in the case of a deceased patient, his next of kin or an authorized representative of his estate) is a party to litigation or other proceedings in which any other person or party seeks to require the production of records of the Service or the disclosure of information described in § 1.102 before a court, agency or other body described in § 1.104, the patient (or, in the case of a deceased patient, his next of kin or an authorized representative of his estate) or his attorney shall be notified promptly, by mail or other reasonable means at his last address known to the Service, of the demand for the records or information and the officer or employee shall respond to the compulsory process in accordance with its terms, without prejudice, however, to any claim of the patient or his representative to the protection against the disclosure of clinical information set forth in the proviso to § 1.104. § 1.107 Limitations on release of records (a) Records of the Service containing information described or referred to in § 1.102 or § 1.103 shall not be released to or deposited with anyone not an authorized officer or employee of the Service except: (1) As may be temporarily necessary for purposes of examination or copying; (2) for purposes of storage at General Services Administration Federal Records Centers under conditions assuring the continuation of the limitations on disclosure set forth in this part: Provided, That release or disclosure of records so stored shall be made by the Federal Records Centers only to authorized officers or employees of the Public Health Service. (b) Where official records of the Service other than X-rays are produced in accordance with subpoena or other compulsory process, their release to or deposit with anyone not an officer or employee of the Service is prohibited except as may be temporarily necessary for the purpose of examination during sessions of the court, body, agency, or other authority before which such records are produced or unless release or deposit is otherwise authorized by the Surgeon General. (c) When the production of official records of the Service in response to a subpoena or other compulsory process is authorized by § 1.106, arrangements shall be made for the procurement of certified copies if so requested by a party litigant. Except when the United States is the requesting party, such copies shall be made at the expense of the requesting party. The records may be released for copying for this purpose in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section. (d) The Chief, Medical Records Library Service at any hospital or station, or any other officer or employee of the Service designated as local custodian of the records by the Medical Officer in Charge of a hospital or station is authorized to certify copies of records. No fee shall be charged for such certification. (Sec. 215, 58 Stat. 690, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 216. Interpret or apply 65 Stat. 290; 5 U.S.C. 140) § 1.108 Relation to other provisions of law The provisions of this part are in addition to other applicable provisions of law or regulation and shall not be deemed to authorize or compel disclosure of information inconsistently with such other provisions. Good Samaritan Statutes Many States have enacted so-called Good Samaritan statutes designed to encourage physicians to provide emergency care and treatment to injured persons, and to exempt them from tort liability for their negligence in rendering such care and treatment. The statutes vary widely with respect to the persons protected, the standard of care expected, and the circumstances under which protection against liability is provided. Many of the statutes deny immunity where assistance is rendered for remuneration or with expectation of remuneration. Others grant immunity only to physicians licensed by the legislating State. Authoritative information can be obtained only by reference to the particular State's samaritan statute, and to the case law based thereon. STATES WITH GOOD SAMARITAN STATUTES Alaska Alaska Stat. § 08.64.365 (1962) Arkansas Arkansas Stat. Ann. § 72-624 (Supp. 1963) Connecticut-Connecticut Gen. Stat. Rev. § 52-557b (Supp. 1963) District of Columbia-District of Columbia Code § 2-142 (1966) Idaho Ch. 241, Sess. Laws of 1965 Illinois Illinois Ann. Stat. 91 § 2a (Supp. 1965) Louisiana-Louisiana Rev. Stat. 37: 1731 (1964) Maine Maine Rev. Stat. Ann. 32 § 3151 (1961) Maryland Maryland Ann. Code ART. 43 § 149A (Supp. 1965) Michigan Michigan Stat. Ann. § 14.563 (Supp. 1963) Mississippi Mississippi Code Ann. § 8893.5 (Supp. 1962) Montana-Montana Rev. Codes Ann. § 17-410 (Supp. 1965) Nevada-Nevada Rev. Stat. § 41.500 (1963) New Hampshire New Hampshire Rev. Stat. Ann. § 329:25 (Supp. 1963) 220-117 066 -7 87 |