N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 14 § 1072.5 - Disclosure of HIV-Related Information by a Physician who Provides Substance Abuse Services

The regulation allows physicians to disclose confidential HIV-related information under the following conditions:

• When disclosure is to a contact or a public health officer for the purpose of contact notification; and
• The physician reasonably believes the disclosure is medically appropriate and the contact is under significant risk of infection; and
• The physician has counseled the protected individual with respect to the need for contact notification, and the physician reasonably believes that the individual will not notify the contact himself/herself; and
• The physician has informed the individual of intention to notify contact and given him/her the opportunity to express preference on whether they would like the physician or a public health official to handle the notification.

When notifying the contact, the physician or public health officer is required to refer the contact to the medical and counseling services, and must not disclose the identity of the protected individual.  However, the regulation states that a physician has no obligation to identify or locate a contact.  A physician is allowed to disclose confidential HIV-related information of a child to a government health officer to determine fitness of the child to attend school, as long as they have the parent’s/guardian’s consent.  A physician is also allowed to disclose such information to a person legally authorized to consent to the protected individual’s health care as long as the physician reasonably believes that disclosure is medically necessary to provide care to individual and the protected individual cannot or will not inform the person legally authorized to consent on his/her behalf.  Any decision to disclose such information to a person legally authorized to consent on behalf of the protected individual must be recorded in the individual’s medical record.