(410 ILCS 325/1) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7401)
Sec. 1.
Short title.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the
Illinois Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act.
(Source: P.A. 85-681.)
(410 ILCS 325/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7402)
Sec. 2.
Findings; intent.
The General Assembly finds and declares that
sexually transmissible diseases constitute a serious and sometimes fatal
threat to the public and individual health and welfare of the people of the
State and visitors to the State. The General Assembly finds that the
incidence of sexually transmissible diseases is rising at an alarming rate
and that these diseases result in significant social, health and economic
costs, including infant and maternal mortality, temporary and lifelong
disability and premature death. The General Assembly finds that sexually
transmissible diseases, by their nature, involve sensitive issues of
privacy, and it is the intent of the General Assembly that all programs
designed to deal with these diseases afford patients privacy,
confidentiality and dignity. The General Assembly finds that medical
knowledge and information about sexually transmissible diseases are rapidly
changing. The General Assembly intends to provide a program that is
sufficiently flexible to meet emerging needs, deals efficiently and
effectively with reducing the incidence of sexually transmissible diseases,
and provides patients with a secure knowledge that information they provide
will remain private and confidential.
(Source: P.A. 85-681.)
(410 ILCS 325/3) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7403)
Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the context clearly
requires otherwise:
(1) “Department” means the Department of Public Health.
(2) “Local health authority” means the full-time official health
department of board of health, as recognized by the Department, having
jurisdiction over a particular area.
(3) “Sexually transmissible disease” means a bacterial, viral, fungal or
parasitic disease, determined by rule of the Department to be sexually
transmissible, to be a threat to the public health and welfare, and to be a
disease for which a legitimate public interest will be served by providing
for regulation and treatment. In considering which diseases are to be
designated sexually transmissible diseases, the Department shall consider
such diseases as chancroid, gonorrhea, granuloma inguinale, lymphogranuloma
venereum, genital herpes simplex, chlamydia, nongonococcal urethritis
(NGU), pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)/Acute
Salpingitis, syphilis, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) for designation, and shall consider the
recommendations and classifications of the Centers for Disease Control and
other nationally recognized medical authorities. Not all diseases that are
sexually transmissible need be designated for purposes of this Act.
(4) “Health care professional” means a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, a licensed physician assistant, or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse.
(5) “Expedited partner therapy” means to prescribe, dispense, furnish, or otherwise provide prescription antibiotic drugs to the partner or partners of persons clinically diagnosed as infected with a sexually transmissible disease, without physical examination of the partner or partners.
(Source: P.A. 99-173, eff. 7-29-15; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18.)
(410 ILCS 325/4) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7404)
Sec. 4. Reporting required.
(a) A physician licensed under the provisions of the Medical Practice Act
of 1987, an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under the provisions of the Nurse Practice Act, or a physician assistant licensed under the provisions of the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987
who makes a diagnosis of or treats a person with a sexually
transmissible disease and each laboratory that performs a test for a sexually
transmissible disease which concludes with a positive result shall report such
facts as may be required by the Department by rule, within such time period as
the Department may require by rule, but in no case to exceed 2 weeks.
(b) The Department shall adopt rules specifying the information
required in reporting a sexually transmissible disease, the method of
reporting and specifying a minimum time period for reporting. In adopting
such rules, the Department shall consider the need for information,
protections for the privacy and confidentiality of the patient, and the
practical abilities of persons and laboratories to report in a reasonable
fashion.
(c) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates any false
information or report concerning the existence of any sexually
transmissible disease under this Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) Any person who violates the provisions of this Section or the rules
adopted hereunder may be fined by the Department up to $500 for each
violation. The Department shall report each violation of this Section to
the regulatory agency responsible for licensing a health care professional
or a laboratory to which these provisions apply.
(Source: P.A. 99-173, eff. 7-29-15; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18.)
(410 ILCS 325/5) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7405)
Sec. 5.
Contact investigation.
(a) The Department shall adopt rules
authorizing interviews and its authorized representatives may interview, or
cause to be interviewed, all persons infected with a sexually transmissible
disease and all persons whom the Department reasonably believes may be
infected with such disease for the purpose of investigating the source and
spread of the disease and for the purpose of ordering a person to submit to
examination and treatment as necessary for the protection of the public health and safety.
(b) All information gathered in the course of contact investigation
pursuant to this Section shall be considered confidential and subject to
the provisions of Section 8 of this Act. Such information shall be exempt
from inspection and copying under The Freedom of Information Act, as amended.
(c) No person contacted under this Section or reasonably believed to be
infected with a sexually transmissible disease who reveals the name or
names of sexual contacts during the course of an investigation shall be
held liable in a civil action for such revelation, unless the revelation is
made falsely or with reckless disregard for the truth.
(d) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates any false
information or report concerning the existence of any sexually
transmissible disease under this Section is guilty of a Class A
misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 85-681.)
(410 ILCS 325/5.5) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7405.5)
Sec. 5.5. Risk assessment.
(a) Whenever the Department receives a report of HIV infection or AIDS
pursuant to this Act and the Department determines that the subject of the
report may present or may have presented a possible risk of HIV
transmission, the Department shall, when medically appropriate, investigate
the subject of the report and that person’s contacts as defined in
subsection (c), to assess the potential risks of transmission. Any
investigation and action shall be conducted in a timely fashion. All
contacts other than those defined in subsection (c) shall be investigated
in accordance with Section 5 of this Act.
(b) If the Department determines that there is or may have been
potential risks of HIV transmission from the subject of the report to other
persons, the Department shall afford the subject the opportunity to submit
any information and comment on proposed actions the Department intends to
take with respect to the subject’s contacts who are at potential risk of
transmission of HIV prior to notification of the subject’s contacts. The
Department shall also afford the subject of the report the opportunity to
notify the subject’s contacts in a timely fashion who are at potential risk
of transmission of HIV prior to the Department taking any steps to notify
such contacts. If the subject declines to notify such contacts or if the
Department determines the notices to be inadequate or incomplete, the
Department shall endeavor to notify such other persons of the potential
risk, and offer testing and counseling services to these individuals. When
the contacts are notified, they shall be informed of the disclosure
provisions of the AIDS Confidentiality Act and the penalties therein and
this Section.
(c) Contacts investigated under this Section shall in the case of HIV
infection include (i) individuals who have undergone invasive procedures
performed by an HIV infected health care provider and (ii)
health care providers who have performed invasive procedures for persons
infected with HIV, provided the Department has determined that there is or
may have been potential risk of HIV transmission from the health care
provider to those individuals or from infected persons to health care
providers. The Department shall have access to the subject’s records to
review for the identity of contacts. The subject’s records shall not be
copied or seized by the Department.
For purposes of this subsection, the term “invasive procedures” means
those procedures termed invasive by the Centers for Disease Control in
current guidelines or recommendations for the prevention of HIV
transmission in health care settings, and the term “health care provider”
means any physician, dentist, podiatric physician, advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant, nurse, or other person providing
health care services of any kind.
(d) All information and records held by the Department and local health
authorities pertaining to activities conducted pursuant to this Section
shall be strictly confidential and exempt from copying and inspection under
the Freedom of Information Act. Such information and records shall not be
released or made public by the Department or local health authorities, and
shall not be admissible as evidence, nor discoverable in any action of any
kind in any court or before any tribunal, board, agency or person and shall
be treated in the same manner as the information and those records subject
to the provisions of Part 21 of Article VIII of the Code of Civil Procedure except under
the following circumstances:
- (1) When made with the written consent of all persons to whom this information pertains;
- (2) (Blank); or
- (3) When made by the Department for the purpose of seeking a warrant authorized by Sections 6 and 7 of this Act. Such disclosure shall conform to the requirements of subsection (a) of Section 8 of this Act.
(e) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates any
information or report concerning the existence of any disease under this
Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 102-168, eff. 7-27-21.)
(410 ILCS 325/6) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7406)
Sec. 6. Physical examination and treatment.
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section, the
Department and its authorized representatives may examine or cause to be
examined persons reasonably believed to be infected with or to have been
exposed to a sexually transmissible disease.
(b) Subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section, persons
with a sexually transmissible disease shall report for complete treatment to a
physician licensed under the provisions of the Medical Practice Act of
1987, or shall submit to treatment at a facility provided by a local health
authority or other public facility, as the Department shall require by rule or
regulation until the disease is noncommunicable or the Department determines
that the person does not present a real and present danger to the public
health. This subsection (b) shall not be construed to require the Department
or local health authorities to pay for or provide such treatment.
(c) No person shall be apprehended, examined or treated for a sexually
transmissible disease against his will, under the provisions of this Act,
except upon the presentation of a warrant duly authorized by a court of
competent jurisdiction. In requesting the issuance of such a warrant the
Department shall show by a preponderance of evidence that the person is
infectious and that a real and present danger to the public health and
welfare exists unless such warrant is issued and shall show that all other
reasonable means of obtaining compliance have been exhausted and that no
other less restrictive alternative is available. The court shall require
any proceedings authorized by this subsection (c) to be conducted in
camera. A record shall be made of such proceedings but shall be sealed,
impounded and preserved in the records of the court, to be made available
to the reviewing court in the event of an appeal.
(d) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates any false
information or report concerning the existence of any sexually
transmissible disease under this Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(e) Taking into account the recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other nationally recognized medical authorities, the Department shall provide information and technical assistance as appropriate to health care professionals who provide expedited partner therapy services for persons with sexually transmissible diseases.
- (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a health care professional who makes a clinical diagnosis of chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomoniasis may prescribe, dispense, furnish, or otherwise provide prescription antibiotic drugs to the infected person’s sexual partner or partners for the treatment of the sexually transmissible disease without physical examination of the partner or partners, if in the judgment of the health care professional the partner is unlikely or unable to present for comprehensive healthcare, including evaluation, testing, and treatment for sexually transmissible diseases. Expedited partner therapy shall be limited to partners who may have been exposed to a sexually transmissible disease within the previous 60 days, if the patient is able to contact the partner.
- (2) Health care professionals who provide expedited partner therapy shall comply with Sections 4 and 5 of the Illinois Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act.
- (3) Health care professionals who provide expedited partner therapy shall provide counseling for the patient and written materials provided by the Department to be given by the patient to the partner or partners that include at a minimum the following:
- (A) a warning that a woman who is pregnant or might be pregnant must not take certain antibiotics and must immediately contact a health care professional for an examination, and a recommendation for such an examination;
- (B) information about the antibiotic and dosage provided or prescribed; clear and explicit allergy and side effect warnings, including a warning that a partner who has a history of allergy to the antibiotic or the pharmaceutical class of antibiotic must not take the antibiotic and must be immediately examined by a health care professional, and a recommendation for such an examination;
- (C) information about the treatment and prevention of sexually transmissible diseases;
- (D) the requirement of abstinence until a period of time after treatment to prevent infecting others;
- (E) notification of the importance of the partner or partners of the patient to receive examination and testing for HIV and other sexually transmissible diseases, and available resources;
- (F) notification of the risk to self, others, and the public health if the sexually transmissible disease is not completely and successfully treated;
- (G) the responsibility of the partner or partners to inform his or her sex partner or partners of the risk of sexually transmissible disease and the importance of prompt examination and treatment; and
- (H) other information as deemed necessary by the Department.
- (4) The Department shall develop and disseminate in electronic and other formats the following written materials:
- (A) informational materials for partners, as required in item (3) of this subsection (e);
- (B) informational materials for persons who are repeatedly diagnosed with sexually transmissible diseases; and
- (C) guidance for health care professionals on the safe and effective provision of expedited partner therapy.
- The Department may offer educational programs about expedited partner therapy for health care professionals and pharmacists licensed under the Pharmacy Practice Act.
- (5) A health care professional prescribing, dispensing, furnishing, or otherwise providing in good faith without fee or compensation prescription antibiotics to partners under this subsection (e) and providing counseling and written materials as required by item (3) of this subsection (e) shall not be subject to civil or professional liability, except for willful and wanton misconduct. A health care professional shall not be subject to civil or professional liability for choosing not to provide expedited partner therapy.
- (6) A pharmacist or pharmacy shall not be subject to civil or professional liability for choosing not to fill a prescription that would cause the pharmacist or pharmacy to violate any provision of the Pharmacy Practice Act, including the definition of “prescription” set forth in subsection (e) of Section 3 of the Pharmacy Practice Act or the definition of “drug regimen review” set forth in subsection (y) of Section 3 of the Pharmacy Practice Act. (Source: P.A. 102-185, eff. 1-1-22.)
(410 ILCS 325/7) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7407)
Sec. 7.
Quarantine and isolation.
(a) Subject to the provisions of
subsection (b) of this Section, the Department may order a person to be
isolated or a place to be quarantined and made off limits to the public to
prevent the probable spread of a sexually transmissible disease, until such
time as the condition can be corrected or the danger to the public health
eliminated or reduced in such a manner that no substantial danger to the
public’s health any longer exists.
(b) No person may be ordered to be isolated, and no place may be ordered
to be quarantined, except with the consent of such person or owner of such
place or upon the order of a court of competent jurisdiction and upon proof
by the Department, by clear and convincing evidence, that the public’s
health and welfare are significantly endangered by a person with a sexually
transmissible disease or by a place where there is a significant amount of
sexual activity likely to spread a sexually transmissible disease, and upon
proof that all other reasonable means of correcting the problem have been
exhausted and no less restrictive alternative exists.
(c) This Section shall be considered supplemental to the existing
authorities and powers of the Department, and shall not be construed to
restrain or restrict the Department in protecting the public health under
any other provisions of the law.
(d) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates any false
information or report concerning the existence of any sexually
transmissible disease in connection with the Department’s power of
quarantine and isolation is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 85-681.)
(410 ILCS 325/8) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7408)
Sec. 8.
Confidentiality.
(a) All information and records held by the Department and its authorized
representatives relating to known or suspected cases of sexually
transmissible diseases shall be strictly confidential and exempt from
inspection and copying under The Freedom of Information Act, as amended.
The Department and its authorized representatives shall not disclose
information and records held by them relating to known or suspected cases of
sexually transmissible diseases publicly or in any action of any kind in any
court or before any tribunal, board, or agency, and
such information shall not be released or made public by a court conducting proceedings authorized by
subsection (c) of Section 6 of this Act, except that release of such
information may be made under the following circumstances:
- (1) When made with the consent of all persons to which the information applies;
- (2) When made for statistical purposes and medical or epidemiologic information is summarized so that no person can be identified and no names are revealed;
- (3) When made to medical personnel, appropriate State agencies or courts of appropriate jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this Act and related rules; or
- (4) When made to persons determined by the Department to be or have been at potential risk of HIV transmission pursuant to Section 5.5 of this Act.
(b) (Blank).
(c) A court hearing a request for the issuance of a warrant as
authorized in subsection (c) of Section 6 of this Act shall conduct such
proceedings in camera. A record shall be made of authorized proceedings
but shall be sealed, impounded and preserved in the records of the court,
to be made available to the reviewing court in the event of an appeal.
(d) No employee of the Department or its authorized representatives
shall be examined in a civil, criminal, special or other proceeding
concerning the existence or contents of pertinent records of a person
examined or treated for a sexually transmissible disease by the Department
or its authorized representatives pursuant to the provisions of this Act,
or concerning the existence or contents of such reports received from a
private physician or private health facility, pursuant to the provisions of
this Act, without the consent of the person examined and treated for such
diseases, except in proceedings under Sections 6 and 7 of this Act.
(e) Any person who knowingly violates the confidentiality provisions of
this Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(f) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates any false
information or report concerning the existence of any sexually
transmissible disease under this Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(Source: P.A. 89-381, eff. 8-18-95.)
(410 ILCS 325/9) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7409)
Sec. 9. Prisoners.
(a) The Department and its authorized
representatives may, at its discretion, enter any State, county or
municipal detention facility to interview, examine and treat any prisoner
for a sexually transmissible disease. Any such State, county or municipal
detention facility shall cooperate with
the Department and its authorized representative to provide such space as
is necessary for the examination and treatment of all prisoners suffering
from or suspected of having a sexually transmissible disease.
(b) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as relieving the
Department of Corrections or any county or municipality of their primary
responsibility for providing medical treatment for prisoners under their
jurisdiction, including treatment for sexually transmissible diseases.
(c) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates any false
information or report concerning the existence of any sexually
transmissible disease under this Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) The Department, in consultation with the Department of Corrections, shall develop and implement written procedures that establish a process for confidentially notifying and recommending sexually transmissible disease testing of the contacts of a committed person who has been diagnosed with a sexually transmissible disease and for notifying and recommending sexually transmissible disease testing of a committed person who has had contact with one diagnosed with a sexually transmissible disease. The process shall be in accordance with Sections 3, 5, and 8 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 97-928, eff. 8-10-12.)
(410 ILCS 325/10) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 7410)
Sec. 10.
Rules.
(a) The Department shall adopt such rules as may be
necessary for the performance of its duties under this Act.
(b) Rules of the Department for the performance of its duties under
this Act shall include criteria, standards and procedures for the
identification and contact of any person to be interviewed and subject to
examination and treatment under Sections 5 and 6 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 85-681.)