This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Alabama Head and Spinal Cord Injury Registry Act.'

The State Health Officer may establish and coordinate an Advisory Panel on Head and Spinal Cord Injury which shall provide governmental and non-governmental input regarding the Head and Spinal Cord Injury Registry. The membership of the panel may include, but is not limited to, representatives from appropriate state departments and agencies, persons with head and spinal cord injuries or their family members, experts on head and spinal cord injuries, providers of head and spinal cord injury care, and representatives of state affiliates of national head and/or spinal cord injury organizations.

The State Health Officer, with input from the advisory panel, shall prepare a report that describes findings from the Head and Spinal Cord Injury Registry and make new recommendations for the prevention of head and spinal cord injuries and provision of rehabilitative services for persons with head and spinal cord injuries and transmit the report to the Legislature and make the report available to the public. These findings shall be presented to an annual meeting of experts in the field of head and spinal cord injury.

(a) No person shall have any claim or cause of action against the State of Alabama, or its political subdivisions, or any individual arising out of any acts or omissions which occurred under the provisions of this chapter, if the state, political subdivisions, or individual is in compliance with this chapter.

(b) No person shall have any claim or cause of action against any person, or the employer or employee of any person, who participates in good faith in the reporting or receiving, or both, of head or spinal cord registry data or data for head or spinal cord injury morbidity or mortality studies in accordance with this chapter.

(c) No license of a health care facility or health care provider may be denied, suspended, or revoked for the good faith disclosure of confidential or privileged information in the reporting of head or spinal cord injury registry data or data for head or spinal cord injury morbidity or mortality studies in accordance with this chapter.

(d) No license of a health care facility or health care provider may be denied, suspended, or revoked for the failure to disclose confidential or privileged information in the reporting of head or spinal cord injury registry data or data for head or spinal cord injury morbidity or mortality studies.

(e) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to apply to the authorized disclosure of confidential or privileged information when that disclosure is due to gross negligence or wanton or willful misconduct.

It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure the referral of persons who have traumatic brain and/or spinal cord injuries to a coordinated rehabilitation program developed and administered by other state agencies, to ascertain information relative to the occurrence of head injuries resulting in moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries, to identify prevention programs to prevent these disabling conditions, and to recommend to the Legislature, state agencies, and other interested organizations steps to prevent and better treat these conditions.

For purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY or HEAD INJURY. Hereinafter, referred to as 'head injury.' An occurrence of injury to the head that is documented in a medical record, with one or more of the following conditions attributed to head injury:

a. Observed or self-reported decreased level of consciousness.

b. Amnesia.

c. Skull fracture.

d. Objective neurological or neuropsychological abnormality.

e. Diagnosed intracranial lesion.

f. As an occurrence of death resulting from trauma, with head injury listed on the death certificate, autopsy report, or medical examiner's report in the sequence of conditions that resulted in death.

This definition applies to an acquired injury to the brain. This term does not include brain dysfunction caused by congenital or degenerative disorders, nor birth trauma, but may include brain injuries caused by anoxia due to near drowning.

(2) SPINAL CORD INJURY. The occurrence of an acute traumatic lesion of neural elements in the spinal canal (spinal cord and Cauda equina), resulting in temporary or permanent sensory deficit, motor deficit, or bowel or bladder dysfunction.

The State Health Officer may establish, contingent on the availability of funding, within the Department of Public Health the Alabama Statewide Head and Spinal Cord Injury Registry for the purpose of providing accurate and up-to-date information about head and spinal cord injuries in Alabama and facilitating the evaluation and improvement of head and spinal cord injuries prevention, diagnosis, therapy, rehabilitation, and referral to coordinated, rehabilitation programs administered by other state agencies. The purpose of these referrals shall be to ensure that these programs shall provide eligible persons the opportunity to obtain the necessary rehabilitative services enabling them to be referred to a vocational rehabilitation program or to return to an appropriate level of functioning in their community. The State Committee of Public Health shall adopt rules necessary to effect the purposes of this chapter, including the data to be reported, and the effective date after which reporting shall be required.

(a) Each case of confirmed head or spinal cord injury shall be reported within 90 days of admission or diagnosis in the manner prescribed by rule. Reports are to be submitted on a monthly basis.

(b) Any further demographic, diagnostic, treatment, or follow-up information shall be provided upon request by the State Health Officer concerning any person now or formerly diagnosed as having or having had a head or spinal cord injury. The State Health Officer or his or her authorized representative shall be permitted access to all records, including death certificates, of persons identified with head or spinal cord injuries.

(a) The Department of Public Health shall establish procedures, after a report has been received for any person with a head or spinal cord injury, to notify the individual or the most immediate available family members of the availability of assistance from the state, the services available, and the eligibility requirements.

(b) The Department of Public Health shall refer persons who have head or spinal cord injuries to other state agencies to assure that rehabilitative services, if desired, are obtained by that person.

(a) All information reported pursuant to this chapter shall be confidential and privileged.

(b) The State Health Officer shall take strict measures to ensure that all identifying information is kept confidential, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

(c) Head and spinal cord injury information may be provided to researchers or research institutions, or both, in connection with head and/or spinal cord injury morbidity and mortality studies upon appropriate review by the State Health Officer. All identifying information regarding an individual patient, health care provider, or health care facility contained in records of interviews, written reports, and statements procured by the State Health Officer or by any other person, agency, or organization acting jointly with the State Health Officer in connection with these studies shall be confidential and privileged and shall be used solely for the purposes of the study. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the State Health Officer from publishing statistical compilations relating to morbidity and mortality studies which do not identify individual cases or sources of information.

(d) Information collected under this chapter is not subject to disclosure under Section 36-12-40.

(a) The State Health Officer may enter into agreements to exchange confidential information with other head and/or spinal cord injury registries to obtain complete reports of Alabama residents diagnosed or treated in other states and to provide information to other states regarding their residents diagnosed or treated in Alabama.

(b) The State Health Officer may furnish confidential information to other states' head and/or spinal cord injury registries, federal head or spinal cord injury prevention or rehabilitation agencies, or health researchers in order to collaborate in a national head and/or spinal cord injury registry or to collaborate in head and/or spinal cord injury prevention and rehabilitation research studies.

(a) The State Health Officer may accept grants, services, and property from the federal government, foundations, organizations, medical schools, and other entities as may be available for the purposes of fulfilling the obligations of this program.

(b) The State Health Officer shall seek any federal waiver or waivers that may be necessary to maximize funds from the federal government to implement this program.