Repealed or Renumbered
In this chapter, 'department' means the Department of Health and Social Services.
Repealed or Renumbered
Repealed or Renumbered
In reporting a birth and stillbirth, the physician and other person required to make the report shall state on the certificate whether a serological test for syphilis has been made upon a specimen of blood taken from the woman who bore the child and the approximate date when the specimen was taken. A birth certificate may not state the result of the test.
The department shall administer and provide services for testing for other heritable diseases that lead to mental retardation and physical handicaps as screening programs accepted by current medical practice and as developed.
Article 04. HEPATITIS B
The department, in establishing a comprehensive program for the control of tuberculosis in the state, shall cooperate with state, federal, and local agencies operating in the state, and obtain as much information and data as possible from them.
(a) The department shall make available on a statewide basis the best current testing method available to detect gonorrhea and chlamydia.
(b) The department shall use the best current testing method available for diagnosis of gonorrhea and chlamydia.
Article 06. BLOOD TESTS OF PERSONS CHARGED WITH SEX OFFENSES
A person may not bring an action for damages based on the decision under AS 18.15.120 - 18.15.149 to detain or not to detain a person unless the action is for damages caused by gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
Equipment purchased for the purposes of carrying out AS 18.15.120 - 18.15.140 that is allotted to private institutions remains the property of the state. Before February 2 in each year, each allottee shall file a complete inventory of the equipment with the department.
For the purposes of AS 18.15.150 - 18.15.180 a standard serological test is a test for syphilis approved by the department and shall be performed in a laboratory or clinic approved by the department. On request the laboratory test required by AS 18.15.150 - 18.15.180 shall be performed without charge at the laboratories of the department.
A licensed physician or licensed nurse attending a pregnant woman during the period of gestation or at delivery, or a representative of a laboratory or clinic who violates AS 18.15.150 - 18.15.180 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine of not more than $500. However, a person attending a pregnant woman during the period of gestation or at delivery, who requests the specimen in accordance with AS 18.15.150 , and whose request is refused, is not guilty of a misdemeanor.
Article 03. PHENYLKETONURIA (PKU) AND OTHER HERITABLE DISEASES
Each licensed physician and in the absence of a licensed physician each licensed graduate nurse who attends a pregnant woman for conditions relating to the pregnancy during the period of gestation or at delivery shall take, or have taken, a sample of the blood of the woman at the time of the woman's first professional visit or within 10 days after the visit, unless the serological test is contrary to the tenets or practice of the religious creed of which the woman is an adherent. The blood specimen shall be submitted to an approved laboratory or clinic for a standard serological test of syphilis. Any other person permitted by law to attend pregnant women but not permitted by law to take blood samples shall have a sample of blood taken by a licensed physician, or on order of a licensed physician, and shall submit the sample to an approved laboratory or clinic for a standard serological test for syphilis.
(a) A person shall submit to an examination to detect tuberculosis whenever, in the opinion of a state medical officer, an examination is necessary to preserve and protect public health.
(b) An examination under this section shall be by written order issued by a state medical officer that must specify the name of the person to be examined and the time and place of the examination. The person to be examined shall be personally served with a copy of the order within a reasonable period of time before the examination is to take place.
(c) An examination under this section shall be performed by a physician who may lawfully practice in the state. The person to be examined may, under conditions specified by the state medical officer, choose the physician who will perform the examination.
(a) An employee of a public or private elementary or secondary school in the state shall be tested annually to detect infectious tuberculosis. An employee who has never had a positive test result from a tuberculin skin test shall obtain a tuberculin skin test. An employee whose skin test result is positive or who has ever had a positive skin test result shall have an appropriate health screening examination that may include obtaining a chest X-ray.
(b) An employee who refuses or fails to be tested as required under (a) of this section is suspended from employment until the employee has been tested.
(c) The school district annually shall obtain from each school employee in the district a certificate or other evidence that the employee has been tested as required in (a) of this section.
(d) The department may by regulation provide for reasonable exceptions to the requirements of this section.
A state medical officer, through the Department of Law, may request the court to issue an order for the emergency detention of a person when the state medical officer finds that a substantial likelihood exists that the person has infectious tuberculosis in order to prevent the person from posing a threat to the public health. Upon issuance of an ex parte court order, a peace officer or a state medical officer shall take the person into custody and deliver the person to the nearest available health care facility or another location that will provide for the protection of the public health. The state medical officer, through the Department of Law, shall make application for a court order authorizing continued detention of the person within 72 hours after the issuance of an ex parte order or, if the 72-hour period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, by the end of the first state working day following the Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. The court shall schedule a hearing within five state working days after receipt of an application for authorization of continued detention.
(a) The cost of performing a blood test under AS 18.15.300 shall be paid by the department.
(b) If a defendant for whom a blood test has been ordered under AS 18.15.300 is convicted of an offense for which the defendant was charged, and for which a blood test could be ordered under AS 18.15.300, the court shall order the defendant to reimburse the department for the cost of the test and may order the Department of Corrections to deduct the amount of the test from any pay the inmate receives under AS 33.30.201 .
Article 07. SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)
(a) A health care provider and a laboratory administrator shall report, within five working days, to a state medical officer when that provider or administrator diagnoses a case of tuberculosis or has reasonable grounds to believe that a patient has tuberculosis, or when a patient ceases treatment for tuberculosis. A health care provider and a laboratory administrator may presume that a patient has ceased treatment if the patient fails to keep an appointment or relocates without transferring medical treatment to another health care provider. A health care provider who treats a patient with tuberculosis, and a person in charge of a health care facility that provides treatment for tuberculosis to a patient, shall maintain written documentation of the patient's adherence to the patient's treatment plan.
(b) A person required to report under (a) of this section shall permit a state medical officer to examine patient records, reports, and other data related to the required report.
(1) 'department' means the Department of Health and Social Services;
(2) 'division of public health' means the division of public health in the department;
(3) 'health care facility' means a hospital, specialty hospital, long-term care facility, medical clinic, or similar facility for which a license has been issued by this state and in which inpatient or outpatient medical services for tuberculosis are provided;
(4) 'health care provider' means an acupuncturist, nurse, nurse practitioner, pharmacist, physician, or physician assistant, hospital, or health clinic who may lawfully practice in this state;
(5) 'state medical officer' means a physician employed by the division of public health;
(6) 'tuberculosis' means a disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium bovis, or mycobacterium africanum.
Article 02. PRENATAL BLOOD TESTS
(a) A health care provider who treats a patient for tuberculosis shall
(1) examine all other persons in the household who have had contact with the patient;
(2) refer those persons to another health care provider for examination and notify the other health care provider and a state medical officer of the referral; or
(3) refer those persons to a state medical officer for examination and promptly notify the state medical officer of the referral.
(b) A health care provider who examines other persons in a household under (a)(1) or (2) of this section shall report to a state medical officer, within 10 days after the examination, the results of the examination.
(c) Under AS 18.15.135 , a state medical officer may order an examination of a person to detect tuberculosis, for the purpose of directing preventive measures for the person, if the state medical officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is at heightened risk of exposure to tuberculosis.
(a) Bloodborne pathogens test results of a prisoner are confidential and may not be disclosed except as provided in AS 18.15.400 - 18.15.450 and as needed for the treatment or medical care of a prisoner specific to a bloodborne pathogen-related illness.
(b) A prisoner may bring a civil action against a person who knowingly, in violation of AS 18.15.400 - 18.15.450, releases the prisoner's name or other uniquely identifying information with the test results or otherwise releases the test results.
(c) The department, a physician, and designated health care personnel are immune from liability in any civil, administrative, or criminal action relating to the disclosure of test results of a prisoner to a correctional officer and the testing of a blood sample from a prisoner for bloodborne pathogens if a good faith effort has been made to comply with AS 18.15.400 - 18.15.450.
Definitions For AS 18.15.400 - 18.15.450,(1) 'bloodborne pathogens' means pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans; these pathogens include hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV);
(2) 'correctional officer' means an employee of the Department of Corrections or of an agent or contractor of the department working in a correctional facility;
(3) 'department' means the Department of Corrections;
(4) 'prisoner' has the meaning given in AS 33.30.901 ;
(5) 'significant exposure' means contact likely to transmit a bloodborne pathogen, in a manner supported by the most current guidelines and recommendations of the United States Public Health Service at the time an evaluation takes place, that includes
(A) percutaneous injury, contact of mucous membrane or nonintact skin, or prolonged contact of intact skin; and
(B) contact, in a manner that may transmit a bloodborne pathogen, with blood, tissue, or potentially infectious body fluids.
Article 09. GENERAL PROVISIONS
(a) If a person with infectious tuberculosis establishes that that person is being provided treatment for tuberculosis by spiritual means or establishes that the person's sincerely held religious beliefs prohibit medical treatment, a state medical officer or the court, in issuing an order under AS 18.15.136 , 18.15.137, or 18.15.139, may consider the spiritual treatment or religious beliefs as well as the health of the person and may order that the person only be isolated at the person's home, or other suitable place of the person's choice, in a manner that will protect the public health.
(b) A person with infectious tuberculosis who is or might become subject to an order issued under AS 18.15.136 , 18.15.137, or 18.15.139, at any time may request recognition and consideration of spiritual treatment or religious beliefs as described in (a) of this section.
(c) In this section, 'spiritual means' means prayer, or a substantially similar activity, by an established practitioner of a recognized church or religious denomination, in accordance with the tenets and practices of that church or religious denomination.
(a) A severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) control program is authorized in the department. The SARS control program shall be administered in the same manner and has the same powers, authority, obligations, and limited immunities as does the program for the control of tuberculosis under AS 18.15.120 - 18.15.149, except for the following:
(1) the provisions of the control program described in AS 18.15.120(1) and (7);
(2) reports to state medical officers under AS 18.15.131 ;
(3) examinations of persons under AS 18.15.133 ;
(4) title to and inventory of equipment allotted to private institutions under AS 18.15.140 ;
(5) the screening of school employees under AS 18.15.145 .
(b) In this section, 'SARS' or 'severe acute respiratory syndrome' means the infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV or the SARS coronavirus and the mutations of that disease.
Article 08. BLOOD TESTING OF PRISONERS FOR BLOODBORNE PATHOGENS
(a) The department shall establish a program under which hepatitis B testing and vaccination is reasonably accessible at no charge to all volunteer emergency medical and rescue personnel in the state who provide an emergency medical or rescue service primarily within an unincorporated community or within a municipality that does not provide funding for the service.
(b) A municipality that has the power to do so shall establish a program under which hepatitis B testing and vaccination is reasonably accessible at no charge to all law enforcement officers and all volunteer or employed emergency medical and rescue personnel who provide service to the public within the municipality. The department shall, upon request, assist a municipality in establishing a program required under this subsection.
(c) The Department of Public Safety shall establish a program under which hepatitis B testing and vaccination is reasonably accessible at no charge to all officers of the state troopers. The Department of Health and Social Services shall, upon request, assist the Department of Public Safety in establishing a program required under this subsection.
(d) In this section,
(1) 'emergency medical and rescue personnel' means a trauma technician, emergency medical technician, rescuer, or mobile intensive care paramedic;
(2) 'employed' means that the person is a paid employee of a first responder service, a rescue service, an ambulance service, or a fire department that provides emergency medical or rescue services as part of its duties;
(3) 'law enforcement officer' means a member of the police force of a municipality;
(4) 'volunteer' means that the person is an active volunteer of a first responder service, a rescue service, an ambulance service, or a fire department that provides emergency medical or rescue services as part of its duties.
Article 05. CHLAMYDIA AND GONORRHEA
(a) A physician who attends a newborn child shall cause this child to be tested for phenylketonuria (PKU). If the mother is delivered in the absence of a physician, the nurse who first visits the child shall cause this test to be performed.
(b) The department shall adopt regulations regarding the method used and the time or times of testing as accepted medical practice indicates.
(c) The necessary laboratory tests and the test materials, reporting forms, and mailing cartons shall be provided by the department.
(d) All tests considered positive by the screening method shall be reported by the screening laboratory to the physician and to the department. The department shall provide services for the performance of a quantitative blood phenylalanine test or its equivalent for diagnostic purposes. A confirmed diagnosis of phenylketonuria shall be reported to the physician and to the department. The department shall provide services for treatment and clinical follow-up of any diagnosed case.
(e) When presumptive positive screening tests have been reported to the department, it shall provide, on request, either the true blood phenylalanine test or subsidize the performance of this test at an approved laboratory.
(f) A licensed physician or licensed nurse attending a newborn or infant who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine of not more than $500. However, a person attending a newborn or infant whose request for appropriate specimens from the newborn or infant is denied by the parent or guardian is not guilty of a misdemeanor. The fact that a child has not been subjected to the test because a request for appropriate specimens has been denied by the parents or guardian shall be reported to the department.
(g) In this section, 'physician' means a doctor of medicine licensed to practice medicine in this state, or an officer in the regular medical service of the armed forces of the United States or the United States Public Health Service assigned to duty in this state.
(a) When a correctional officer has made a request under AS 18.15.400 , except as provided in (b) or (c) of this section or in AS 18.15.420 , before collecting and testing the blood of a prisoner, the department must first obtain the consent of the prisoner or the prisoner's representative if the prisoner is unable to provide the consent.
(b) Consent of a prisoner's representative is not required if the department has made reasonable efforts to locate the prisoner's representative and the representative cannot be found within 24 hours after a significant exposure. If testing of available blood occurs without consent because the prisoner is unconscious or unable to provide consent, and a representative cannot be located, the department shall provide the information required in AS 18.15.400 to the prisoner or representative whenever it is possible to do so.
(c) If a prisoner dies before an opportunity to consent to blood collection or testing, consent is not required, and the prisoner's blood may be collected and tested.
(d) If the prisoner or the prisoner's representative, if appropriate, consents and a sample of the prisoner's blood
(1) is available, the department shall have the blood tested for bloodborne pathogens;
(2) is not available, the department shall collect a sample and have the blood sample tested for bloodborne pathogens.
(e) The department may not withhold care or treatment on the requirement that the prisoner consent to testing for bloodborne pathogens.
(a) If a person detained under an order issued under AS 18.15.136 requests release from detention, the state medical officer shall make an application for a court order authorizing continued detention within 72 hours after the request or, if the 72-hour period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, by the end of the first state working day following the Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. The court shall schedule a hearing within five state working days after receipt of the state medical officer's application. After a detained person requests release, detention of that person may not continue for more than five business days in the absence of a court order authorizing continued detention. However, no person may be detained under an order issued under AS 18.15.136 for more than 60 days without a court order authorizing the detention. A state medical officer, through the Department of Law, shall seek further court review of a detention within 90 days following the initial court order authorizing the detention and within 90 days after each subsequent court order authorizing detention.
(b) In a court proceeding to authorize or enforce a state medical officer's order under AS 18.15.136 for the detention of a person, the state medical officer must prove the circumstances constituting the necessity for the detention by clear and convincing evidence.
(c) A person who is subject to a detention order under AS 18.15.136 has the right to be represented by counsel or to have, under AS 18.85.100, court-appointed counsel provided.
(d) A person who is the subject of a court proceeding initiated under AS 18.15.136 or 18.15.137 may elect to have the hearing open or closed to the public.
The department may establish a comprehensive program for the control of tuberculosis in the state, and may
(1) arrange means by which persons in the state may be X-rayed to determine the presence of tuberculosis;
(2) establish necessary out-patient clinics for the care of tuberculosis;
(3) encourage and promote the establishment of adequate health care facilities within the state to care for persons suffering from tuberculosis and allied conditions;
(4) under the provisions of AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code), obtain, by purchase or donation from surplus federal property or otherwise, medical supplies and equipment useful in carrying out this program and allot or resell these supplies and equipment to private institutions engaged by the department to carry out this program;
(5) under the provisions of AS 36.30, contract with hospitals, associations, or other health care facilities qualified and equipped to give adequate care inside or outside the state;
(6) employ necessary and trained personnel to carry out the purposes of AS 18.15.120 - 18.15.149;
(7) pay the costs of care and incidental expenses for residents of the state, in whole or in part, depending on the ability of each patient to pay, and the temporary costs of care and transportation for nonresidents on the same basis until they can be transferred to their residence;
(8) enlist the cooperation of state, federal, and local agencies operating in the state for the furtherance of this program;
(9) establish standards in accordance with department procedure for the care of persons with tuberculosis receiving treatment under AS 18.15.120 - 18.15.149;
(10) adopt regulations to implement and interpret AS 18.15.120 - 18.15.149.
(a) When requested by a correctional officer who may have received a significant exposure from a prisoner, the department shall follow the testing procedures of AS 18.15.400 - 18.15.450 if
(1) a physician licensed under AS 08 determines that a significant exposure to the correctional officer has occurred;
(2) the physician for the correctional officer needs the prisoner's bloodborne pathogens test results to begin, continue, modify, or discontinue treatment in accordance with the most current guidelines of the United States Public Health Service, because of possible exposure to a bloodborne pathogen; and
(3) the correctional officer consents to providing a blood sample for testing for a bloodborne pathogen.
(b) Before employing the testing procedures of AS 18.15.400 - 18.15.450 or disclosing any information about the prisoner or correctional officer, the department shall inform the
(1) prisoner that
(A) the prisoner's bloodborne pathogens test results, without the prisoner's name or other uniquely identifying information, shall be reported to the correctional officer if requested and that test results collected are for medical purposes and may not be used as evidence in any criminal proceedings or civil proceedings;
(B) the prisoner may refuse to provide a blood sample and that the prisoner's refusal may result in a request for a court order to require the prisoner to provide a blood sample; and
(C) the department will advise the correctional officer of the confidentiality requirements and penalties before the officer's health care provider discloses any test results;
(2) correctional officer of the confidentiality requirements of AS 18.15.440 and that the correctional officer may be subject to penalties for unauthorized release of test results about the prisoner.
(c) If the disclosures have been made, the department shall ask the prisoner if the prisoner has ever had a positive test for a bloodborne pathogen. The department shall disclose the prisoner's existing bloodborne pathogens test results to the correctional officer without the prisoner's name or other uniquely identifying information.
(a) When a correctional officer has made a request under AS 18.15.400 , the department shall file a petition in the superior court for a court order requiring the prisoner to provide a blood sample for testing for bloodborne pathogens. The department shall serve the petition on the prisoner at least 48 hours before a hearing on the petition. The petition must include the following information supported by affidavit:
(1) a statement that the department followed the procedures in AS 18.15.400 - 18.15.450 and attempted to obtain bloodborne pathogens test results according to those sections;
(2) a statement that
(A) the correctional officer and department have documented the officer's exposure to blood or body fluids during performance of the officer's work duties;
(B) the department has asked the prisoner to consent under AS 18.15.410, and the prisoner does not consent;
(C) the department has provided the correctional officer and the prisoner with the disclosures required under AS 18.15.400 ; and
(D) the department has informed the correctional officer of the confidentiality requirements of AS 18.15.440 and the penalties for unauthorized release of prisoner information;
(3) a statement that a physician licensed under AS 08 and knowledgeable about the most current recommendations of the United States Public Health Service has determined that a significant exposure has occurred to the correctional officer; and
(4) a statement that a physician has documented that the correctional officer has provided a blood sample and consented to testing for bloodborne pathogens, and bloodborne pathogens test results are needed for beginning, continuing, modifying, or discontinuing medical treatment for the correctional officer.
(b) A court shall order a prisoner to provide a blood sample for bloodborne pathogen testing if the court finds that
(1) there is probable cause to believe that a significant exposure to the correctional officer from the prisoner has occurred;
(2) a licensed physician for the correctional officer needs the test results for beginning, continuing, modifying, or discontinuing medical treatment for the correctional officer; or
(3) a compelling need for the testing and test results exists; in making this finding, the court shall consider the need for the test against the privacy or other interests of the prisoner.
(c) The court may impose appropriate safeguards against unauthorized disclosure by specifically identifying the persons to have access to the test results and the uses of the test results when ordering a test under (b) of this section.
(d) After testing is completed under this section, the department shall inform the prisoner whose blood was tested of the results. The department shall inform the correctional officer's physician of the prisoner's test results without the prisoner's name or other uniquely identifying information.
(a) A defendant charged in a criminal complaint, indictment, presentment, or information filed with a magistrate or court with a violation of AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.450 that includes sexual penetration as an element of the offense, or a minor with respect to whom a petition has been filed in a juvenile court alleging a violation of AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.450 that includes sexual penetration as an element of the offense, may be ordered by a court having jurisdiction of the complaint, indictment, information, presentment, or juvenile petition to submit to testing as provided in AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320.
(b) An alleged victim listed in the complaint, indictment, information, presentment, or juvenile petition, the parent or guardian of an alleged victim who is a minor or incompetent, or the prosecuting attorney on the behalf of an alleged victim, may petition the court for an order authorized under this section.
(c) Upon receipt of a petition filed under (b) of this section, the court shall determine if (1) probable cause exists to believe that a crime for which a test may be ordered under (a) of this section has been committed, and (2) probable cause exists to believe that sexual penetration took place between the defendant or minor and the alleged victim in an act for which the defendant or minor is charged under (a) of this section. In making the determination, the court may rely exclusively on the evidence presented at a grand jury proceeding or preliminary hearing.
(d) If the court finds probable cause exists to believe that (1) a crime for which a test may be ordered under (a) of this section has been committed, and (2) sexual penetration described in (c)(2) of this section took place, the court shall order that the defendant or minor provide two specimens of blood for testing as provided in AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320.
(e) Copies of the blood test results shall be provided to the defendant or minor, each requesting victim, the victim's designee or, if the victim is a minor or incompetent, the victim's parents or legal guardian. If the defendant or minor is being incarcerated or detained at the time of the blood test or thereafter, the blood test results shall be provided to the officer in charge and the chief medical officer of the facility in which the defendant or minor is incarcerated or detained, including an incarceration or detention ordered as a result of conviction or judgment of delinquency or child in need of aid for an act for which the defendant or minor is charged under (a) of this section.
(f) A court may not order a test under this section
(1) before seven days after the defendant or minor's arrest;
(2) after the entry of a disposition favorable to a defendant; or
(3) if the defendant is convicted or adjudicated delinquent or in need of aid, after 90 days after the issuance of the judgment and sentence or of the judgment in a juvenile action.
(g) In this section,
(1) 'disposition favorable to the defendant' means an adjudication by a court other than a conviction, or if the defendant is a minor not being prosecuted as an adult, that the minor is not adjudicated delinquent or a child in need of aid, for an offense for which a blood test could be ordered under this section;
(2) 'sexual penetration' has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900 (b).
(a) The withdrawal of blood for a test under AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320 shall be performed in a medically approved manner. Only a physician or physician assistant licensed under AS 08.64, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or certified emergency medical technician may withdraw blood specimens for the purposes of AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320.
(b) The court shall order that the blood specimens withdrawn under AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320 be transmitted to a licensed medical laboratory and that tests be conducted on them for medically accepted indications of exposure to or infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases for which medically approved testing is readily and economically available as determined by the court.
(c) Copies of test results that indicate exposure to or infection by HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases shall also be transmitted to the department.
(d) The test results shall be provided to the designated recipients with the following disclaimer:
'The tests were conducted in a medically approved manner but tests cannot determine exposure to or infection by HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases with absolute accuracy. Persons receiving this test result should continue to monitor their own health and should consult a physician as appropriate.'
(e) The court shall order all persons, other than the test subject, who receive test results under AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320 to maintain the confidentiality of personal identifying data relating to the test results except for disclosures by the victim, or if the victim is a minor or incompetent by the victim's parents or legal guardian, as
(1) is necessary to obtain medical or psychological care or advice or to ensure the health of the victim's spouse, immediate family, persons occupying the same household as the victim, or a person in a dating, courtship, or engagement relationship with the victim;
(2) is necessary to pursue civil remedies against the test subject; or
(3) otherwise permitted by the court.
(f) The specimens and the results of tests ordered under AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320 are not admissible evidence in a criminal or juvenile proceeding.
(g) A person performing testing, transmitting test results, or disclosing information under AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320 is immune from civil liability for an act or omission under authority of AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320. However, this subsection does not preclude liability for a grossly negligent or intentional violation of a provision of AS 18.15.300 - 18.15.320.
(h) If the results of a blood test conducted under AS 18.15.300 indicate exposure to or infection by HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases for which testing was conducted, the department shall provide (1) free counseling and free testing to a victim for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases reasonably communicable through the offense; and (2) counseling to the alleged perpetrator or defendant upon request of the alleged perpetrator or defendant. The department shall provide referral to appropriate health care facilities and support services at the request of the victim.
(i) In this section,
(1) 'AIDS' means acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or HIV symptomatic disease;
(2) 'counseling' means providing a person with information and explanations relating to AIDS and HIV that are medically appropriate for that person, including all or part of the following:
(A) accurate information regarding AIDS and HIV;
(B) an explanation of behaviors that reduce the risk of transmitting AIDS and HIV;
(C) an explanation of the confidentiality of information relating to AIDS diagnoses and HIV tests;
(D) an explanation of information regarding both social and medical implications of HIV tests;
(E) disclosure of commonly recognized treatment or treatments of AIDS and HIV;
(3) 'HIV' means the human immunodeficiency virus.
(a) In addition to orders issued under AS 18.15.135 , if a state medical officer determines that the public health in general, or the health of a particular person, is endangered by exposure to a person who is known to have tuberculosis, or by exposure to a person for whom there are reasonable grounds to believe has tuberculosis, a state medical officer may issue the orders that the medical officer finds necessary to protect the public from a threat to the public health. An examination ordered under this section shall be performed by a physician who may lawfully practice in the state. Under conditions specified by the state medical officer who issued the order, the person to be examined may choose the physician who will perform the examination. A state medical officer may not under this section order the forcible or involuntary administration of medicine. The state medical officer, through the Department of Law, may make application to a court for enforcement of an order issued under this section.
(b) An order issued under (a) of this section may include
(1) an authorization for the removal to or admission into a health care facility for appropriate examination for infectious tuberculosis of a person who is known to have tuberculosis, or of a person for whom there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person has tuberculosis and who is unable or unwilling to submit to an examination ordered under AS 18.15.135 ;
(2) a requirement that a person who has tuberculosis complete an appropriate treatment plan for tuberculosis and, if necessary, follow required infection control precautions for tuberculosis;
(3) a requirement that a person be removed to, admitted into, and subsequently detained in, a health facility, if
(A) the person has infectious tuberculosis, or presents a substantial likelihood of having infectious tuberculosis, based upon epidemiologic information, clinical findings, X-ray readings, or tuberculosis laboratory test results; and
(B) the state medical officer finds that a substantial likelihood exists that the person may transmit tuberculosis to others because of the person's inadequate separation from others;
(4) a requirement that a person be removed to, admitted into, and subsequently detained in a health care facility for treatment if
(A) the person has infectious tuberculosis, or has been reported to a state medical officer as having infectious tuberculosis, and the state medical officer has no knowledge that the person has completed an appropriate treatment plan for tuberculosis; and
(B) substantial likelihood exists, based on the person's past or present behavior, that the person cannot be relied upon to participate in or complete an appropriate treatment plan for tuberculosis or, if necessary, follow required infection control precautions for tuberculosis; the state medical officer may consider as indicators of unreliability the person's refusal or failure to take medication for tuberculosis, refusal or failure to keep appointments for treatment for tuberculosis, refusal or failure to complete a treatment plan for tuberculosis, or disregard for infection control precautions prescribed by a health care provider or a state medical officer;
(5) an authorization for isolation of a person with infectious tuberculosis through detention at the person's place of residence until the state medical officer has determined that the person no longer has infectious tuberculosis.
(c) A state medical officer shall issue an order under this section in writing and in the order shall set out the following:
(1) the name of the person required to comply with the order, the period of time during which the order is in effect, and other terms and conditions that the state medical officer determines to be necessary to protect the public health;
(2) the legal authority under which the order is issued;
(3) an assessment of the person's circumstances or behavior constituting the basis for the issuance of the order; and
(4) any less restrictive treatment alternatives that were attempted and were unsuccessful, or less restrictive treatment alternatives that were considered and rejected, and the reasons for the rejection of those alternatives.
(d) In addition to the requirements of (c) of this section, an order for the detention of a person must include
(1) the purpose of the detention;
(2) advice to the person being detained that the person has the right to request release from detention by contacting the state medical officer at the telephone number stated on the order and that, under AS 18.15.139, in the absence of a court order authorizing the detention, the detention may not continue for more than five business days after the request for release;
(3) advice to the person being detained that, under AS 18.15.139 , the state medical officer is required to obtain, within 60 days following the commencement of detention, a court order authorizing the detention and after that must seek further court review of the detention within 90 days after the court order and within 90 days after each subsequent court review;
(4) advice to the person being detained that the person has the right to arrange to be represented by counsel or, under AS 18.85.100 , to have court-appointed counsel provided; and
(5) advice to the person being detained that the person has the right to elect whether a proceeding providing court review is open or closed to the public.
(e) A state medical officer is not required to obtain a court order before issuing an order under this section for detention of a person.
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