All records and information held by the department or a local health department relating to known or suspected cases of STDs shall be strictly confidential. This information shall not be released or made public upon subpoena, court order, discovery, search warrant or otherwise, except that release may be made under the following circumstances:

(1) Release is made of medical or epidemiological information for statistical purposes, in such form that no individual person can be identified;
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-10-113

  • Department: means the department of health. See Tennessee Code 68-10-101
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(2) Release is made of medical or epidemiological information with the consent of all persons identified in the information released;
(3) Release is made of medical or epidemiological information to medical personnel, appropriate state agencies, or county and district courts to enforce this chapter and related regulations governing the control and treatment of STDs;
(4) Release is made of medical or epidemiological information to medical personnel in a medical emergency to the extent necessary to protect the health or life of the patient;
(5) In a case involving a minor not more than thirteen (13) years of age, only the name, age, address and STD treated shall be reported to appropriate agents as required by § 37-1-403. No other information shall be released. If the information to be disclosed is required in a court proceeding involving child abuse, the information shall be disclosed in camera; or
(6)

(A) Release is made during a legal proceeding when ordered by a trial court judge, designated by § 16-2-502, or a juvenile court judge through an order explicitly finding each of the following:

(i) The information sought is material, relevant, and reasonably calculated to be admissible evidence during the legal proceeding;
(ii) The probative value of the evidence outweighs the individual’s and the public’s interest in maintaining its confidentiality;
(iii) The merits of the litigation cannot be fairly resolved without the disclosure; and
(iv) The evidence is necessary to avoid substantial injustice to the party seeking it and, either the disclosure will result in no significant harm to the person examined or treated, or it would be substantially unfair as between the requesting party and the person examined or treated not to require the disclosure.
(B) A juvenile court judge shall make the findings set forth in subdivision (6)(A) by examining the information, in camera, and shall order the information placed under seal. The judge shall only examine the records of a juvenile who is under the jurisdiction of the court.
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