West Virginia Code 16-4E-6 – Confidentiality of screening tool
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-4E-6
- Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health in the department. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- Department: means the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "department" and "Department of Health and Human Resources" means the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- 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.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
(a) The uniform maternal screening tool shall be confidential and shall not be released or disclosed to anyone, including any state or federal agency for any reason other than data analysis of high-risk and at-risk pregnancies for planning purposes by public health officials: Provided, That managed care organizations, with respect to their Medicaid or CHIP plans or contracts, which are reviewed and approved by the Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Medical Services, and the Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Medical Services may be provided data from the screening tool regarding their own covered members. The contracted managed care companies and the Bureau for Medical Services must maintain the confidentiality of the data received.
(b) Proceedings, records, and opinions of the advisory council are confidential and are not subject to discovery, subpoena, or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding. Nothing in this subsection is to be construed to limit or restrict the right to discover, or use in any civil or criminal proceeding anything that is available from another source and entirely independent of the proceedings of the advisory council.
(c) Members of the advisory council may not be questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding regarding information presented in, or opinions formed as a result of, a meeting of the panel. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prevent a member of the advisory council from testifying to information obtained independently of the panel or which is public information.