§ 31-22-9.2 - HIV tests -- Report of positive results; counseling; violations; exception for insurance coverage; exposure of health care provider - Georgia Statutes

O.C.G.A. 31-22-9.2 (2010)
31-22-9.2. HIV tests -- Report of positive results; counseling; violations; exception for insurance coverage; exposure of health care provider

(a) Any term used in this Code section and defined in Code Section 31-22-9.1 shall have the meaning provided for that term in Code Section 31-22-9.1.

(b) Reserved.

(c) Unless exempted under this Code section, each health care provider who orders an HIV test for any person shall do so only after counseling the person to be tested. Unless exempted under this subsection, the person to be tested shall have the opportunity to refuse the test. The provisions of this subsection shall not be required if the person is required to submit to an HIV test pursuant to Code Section 15-11-66.1, 17-10-15, 31-17-4.2, 31-17A-3, 42-5-52.1, or 42-9-42.1. The provisions of this subsection shall not be required if the person is a minor or incompetent and the parent or guardian thereof permits the test after compliance with this subsection. The provisions of this subsection shall not be required if the person is unconscious, temporarily incompetent, or comatose and the next of kin permits the test after compliance with this subsection. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to emergency or life-threatening situations. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply if the physician ordering the test is of the opinion that the person to be tested is in such a medical or emotional state that disclosure of the test would be injurious to the person's health. The provisions of this subsection shall only be required prior to drawing the body fluids required for the HIV test and shall not be required for each test performed upon that fluid sample.

(d) The health care provider ordering an HIV test shall provide medically appropriate counseling to the person tested with regard to the test results. Such medically appropriate counseling shall only be required when the last confirmatory test has been completed.

(e) The criminal penalty provided in Code Section 31-22-13 shall not apply to a violation of subsection (c), (d), or (g) of this Code section. The statute of limitations for any action alleging a violation of this Code section shall be two years from the date of the alleged violation.

(f) The provisions of this Code section shall not apply to situations in which an HIV test is ordered or required in connection with insurance coverage, provided that the person to be tested or the appropriate representative of that person has agreed to have the test administered under such procedures as may be established by the Commissioner of Insurance after consultation with the Department of Community Health.

(g) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Code section, when exposure of a health care provider to any body fluids of a patient occurs in such a manner as to create any risk that such provider might become an HIV infected person if the patient were an HIV infected person, according to current infectious disease guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or according to infectious disease standards of the health care facility where the exposure occurred, a health care provider otherwise authorized to order an HIV test shall be authorized to order any HIV test on such patient and obtain the results thereof:

(1) If the patient or the patient's representative, if the patient is a minor, otherwise incompetent, or unconscious, does not refuse the test after being notified that the test is to be ordered and after having been provided counseling and an opportunity to refuse the test; or

(2) If the patient or representative refuses the test, following compliance with paragraph (1) of this subsection, when at least one other health care provider who is otherwise authorized to order an HIV test concurs in writing to the testing, the patient is informed of the results of the test and is provided counseling with regard to those results, and the occurrence of that test is not made a part of the patient's medical records, where the test results are negative, without the patient's consent.