Bill Text: IL SB3131 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Access to Public Health Data Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services shall, at the request of a local health department in Illinois, make any and all public health data related to residents of that local health department's jurisdiction available to that local health department for the purposes of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability. Provides that the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services may adopt any rules necessary to implement the Act. Contains other provisions. Amends the Department of Public Health Act. Provides that emergency access to medical or health information, records, or data shall include access to electronic health records, provided that the local health authority shall be unable to alter the electronic health records. Provides that a person, facility, institution, or agency providing information under the provisions may withhold a patient's mental or behavioral health history. Amends the Vital Records Act. Provides that no rule adopted by the Department of Public Health shall be construed as restricting access to vital records by any municipality, county, multicounty, public health district, or regional health officer recognized by the Department for the purposes described in specified provisions. Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health may release specified confidential information to a certified local health department engaged in the performance of epidemiological studies, the application of data science methods, or other analytic models that protect and promote public health. Makes other changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-11 - Referred to Assignments [SB3131 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SB3131-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 SB3131 Introduced 1/11/2022, by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
20 ILCS 2305/2 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 22
410 ILCS 535/24 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-24
720 ILCS 570/318
Creates the Access to Public Health Data Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services shall, at the request of a local health department in Illinois, make any and all public health data related to residents of that local health department's jurisdiction available to that local health department for the purposes of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability. Provides that the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services may adopt any rules necessary to implement the Act. Contains other provisions. Amends the Department of Public Health Act. Provides that emergency access to medical or health information, records, or data shall include access to electronic health records, provided that the local health authority shall be unable to alter the electronic health records. Provides that a person, facility, institution, or agency providing information under the provisions may withhold a patient's mental or behavioral health history. Amends the Vital Records Act. Provides that no rule adopted by the Department of Public Health shall be construed as restricting access to vital records by any municipality, county, multicounty, public health district, or regional health officer recognized by the Department for the purposes described in specified provisions. Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health may release specified confidential information to a certified local health department engaged in the performance of epidemiological studies, the application of data science methods, or other analytic models that protect and promote public health. Makes other changes.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning health.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Access
to Public Health Data Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, "public
health data" includes, but is not limited to, birth and death
certificate data, hospital discharge data, adverse pregnancy
outcomes reporting system (APORS) data, cancer registry data,
pregnancy risk assessment monitoring system (PRAMS) data,
syndromic surveillance data, and prescription monitoring
program (PMP) data.
Section 10. Access to public health data; local health
departments.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of State law to
the contrary, the Department of Public Health, the Department
of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family
Services shall, at the request of a local health department in
this State, make any and all public health data related to
residents of that local health department's jurisdiction
available to that local health department for the purposes of
preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability. The

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commissioner, executive director, chief operating officer,
chief medical officer, or equivalent executive leader of a
local health department has express authority to request and
receive such data.
(b) The Department of Public Health, the Department of
Human Services, the Department of Children and Family
Services, and the requesting local health department shall
apply appropriate safeguards to ensure the privacy and
security of the data.
Section 15. Date use agreements. The Department of Public
Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department of
Children and Family Services, and the requesting local health
department may enter into data use agreements to ensure
appropriate, effective, and efficient use of data requested by
the local health department, though no data use agreement
shall restrict local health department access to any public
health data available to the Department of Public Health, the
Department of Human Services, or the Department of Children
and Family Services, nor shall it require indemnification as a
prerequisite to access.
Section 20. Standard request data forms. Within 60 days
after the effective date of this Act, the Department of Public
Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department
of Children and Family Services shall develop a standard data

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request form for use by local health departments, the terms of
which shall be limited to data content, format, method of
transfer, analytic and statistical methods, scope of use, and
requirements for safeguarding the data.
Section 25. Latest available data. The Department of
Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the
Department of Children and Family Services must provide the
latest available data for each local health department request
within 90 business days after receiving the data request form.
Section 30. Rules. The Department of Public Health, the
Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children
and Family Services may adopt any rules necessary to implement
this Act.
Section 35. The Department of Public Health Act is amended
by changing Section 2 as follows:
(20 ILCS 2305/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 22)
Sec. 2. Powers.
(a) The State Department of Public Health has general
supervision of the interests of the health and lives of the
people of the State. It has supreme authority in matters of
quarantine and isolation, and may declare and enforce
quarantine and isolation when none exists, and may modify or

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relax quarantine and isolation when it has been established.
The Department may adopt, promulgate, repeal and amend rules
and regulations and make such sanitary investigations and
inspections as it may from time to time deem necessary for the
preservation and improvement of the public health, consistent
with law regulating the following:
(1) Transportation of the remains of deceased persons.
(2) Sanitary practices relating to drinking water made
accessible to the public for human consumption or for
lavatory or culinary purposes.
(3) Sanitary practices relating to rest room
facilities made accessible to the public or to persons
handling food served to the public.
(4) Sanitary practices relating to disposal of human
wastes in or from all buildings and places where people
live, work or assemble.
The provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure
Act are hereby expressly adopted and shall apply to all
administrative rules and procedures of the Department of
Public Health under this Act, except that Section 5-35 of the
Illinois Administrative Procedure Act relating to procedures
for rule-making does not apply to the adoption of any rule
required by federal law in connection with which the
Department is precluded by law from exercising any discretion.
All local boards of health, health authorities and
officers, police officers, sheriffs and all other officers and

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employees of the state or any locality shall enforce the rules
and regulations so adopted and orders issued by the Department
pursuant to this Section.
The Department of Public Health shall conduct a public
information campaign to inform Hispanic women of the high
incidence of breast cancer and the importance of mammograms
and where to obtain a mammogram. This requirement may be
satisfied by translation into Spanish and distribution of the
breast cancer summaries required by Section 2310-345 of the
Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law (20 ILCS
2310/2310-345). The information provided by the Department of
Public Health shall include (i) a statement that mammography
is the most accurate method for making an early detection of
breast cancer, however, no diagnostic tool is 100% effective
and (ii) instructions for performing breast self-examination
and a statement that it is important to perform a breast
self-examination monthly.
The Department of Public Health shall investigate the
causes of dangerously contagious or infectious diseases,
especially when existing in epidemic form, and take means to
restrict and suppress the same, and whenever such disease
becomes, or threatens to become epidemic, in any locality and
the local board of health or local authorities neglect or
refuse to enforce efficient measures for its restriction or
suppression or to act with sufficient promptness or
efficiency, or whenever the local board of health or local

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authorities neglect or refuse to promptly enforce efficient
measures for the restriction or suppression of dangerously
contagious or infectious diseases, the Department of Public
Health may enforce such measures as it deems necessary to
protect the public health, and all necessary expenses so
incurred shall be paid by the locality for which services are
rendered.
(b) Subject to the provisions of subsection (c), the
Department may order a person or group of persons to be
quarantined or isolated or may order a place to be closed and
made off limits to the public to prevent the probable spread of
a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, including
non-compliant tuberculosis patients, 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. Orders for
isolation of a person or quarantine of a place to prevent the
probable spread of a sexually transmissible disease shall be
governed by the provisions of Section 7 of the Illinois
Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act and not this
Section.
(c) Except as provided in this Section, no person or a
group of persons may be ordered to be quarantined or isolated
and no place may be ordered to be closed and made off limits to
the public except with the consent of the person or owner of
the place or upon the prior order of a court of competent

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jurisdiction. The Department may, however, order a person or a
group of persons to be quarantined or isolated or may order a
place to be closed and made off limits to the public on an
immediate basis without prior consent or court order if, in
the reasonable judgment of the Department, immediate action is
required to protect the public from a dangerously contagious
or infectious disease. In the event of an immediate order
issued without prior consent or court order, the Department
shall, as soon as practical, within 48 hours after issuing the
order, obtain the consent of the person or owner or file a
petition requesting a court order authorizing the isolation or
quarantine or closure. When exigent circumstances exist that
cause the court system to be unavailable or that make it
impossible to obtain consent or file a petition within 48
hours after issuance of an immediate order, the Department
must obtain consent or file a petition requesting a court
order as soon as reasonably possible. To obtain a court order,
the Department, by clear and convincing evidence, must prove
that the public's health and welfare are significantly
endangered by a person or group of persons that has, that is
suspected of having, that has been exposed to, or that is
reasonably believed to have been exposed to a dangerously
contagious or infectious disease including non-compliant
tuberculosis patients or by a place where there is a
significant amount of activity likely to spread a dangerously
contagious or infectious disease. The Department must also

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prove that all other reasonable means of correcting the
problem have been exhausted and no less restrictive
alternative exists. For purposes of this subsection, in
determining whether no less restrictive alternative exists,
the court shall consider evidence showing that, under the
circumstances presented by the case in which an order is
sought, quarantine or isolation is the measure provided for in
a rule of the Department or in guidelines issued by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health
Organization. Persons who are or are about to be ordered to be
isolated or quarantined and owners of places that are or are
about to be closed and made off limits to the public shall have
the right to counsel. If a person or owner is indigent, the
court shall appoint counsel for that person or owner. Persons
who are ordered to be isolated or quarantined or who are owners
of places that are ordered to be closed and made off limits to
the public, shall be given a written notice of such order. The
written notice shall additionally include the following: (1)
notice of the right to counsel; (2) notice that if the person
or owner is indigent, the court will appoint counsel for that
person or owner; (3) notice of the reason for the order for
isolation, quarantine, or closure; (4) notice of whether the
order is an immediate order, and if so, the time frame for the
Department to seek consent or to file a petition requesting a
court order as set out in this subsection; and (5) notice of
the anticipated duration of the isolation, quarantine, or

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closure.
(d) The Department may order physical examinations and
tests and collect laboratory specimens as necessary for the
diagnosis or treatment of individuals in order to prevent the
probable spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious
disease. Physical examinations, tests, or collection of
laboratory specimens must not be such as are reasonably likely
to lead to serious harm to the affected individual. To prevent
the spread of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease,
the Department may, pursuant to the provisions of subsection
(c) of this Section, isolate or quarantine any person whose
refusal of physical examination or testing or collection of
laboratory specimens results in uncertainty regarding whether
he or she has been exposed to or is infected with a dangerously
contagious or infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger
to the public's health. An individual may refuse to consent to
a physical examination, test, or collection of laboratory
specimens. An individual shall be given a written notice that
shall include notice of the following: (i) that the individual
may refuse to consent to physical examination, test, or
collection of laboratory specimens; (ii) that if the
individual consents to physical examination, tests, or
collection of laboratory specimens, the results of that
examination, test, or collection of laboratory specimens may
subject the individual to isolation or quarantine pursuant to
the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section; (iii) that

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if the individual refuses to consent to physical examination,
tests, or collection of laboratory specimens and that refusal
results in uncertainty regarding whether he or she has been
exposed to or is infected with a dangerously contagious or
infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger to the public's
health, the individual may be subject to isolation or
quarantine pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of
this Section; and (iv) that if the individual refuses to
consent to physical examinations, tests, or collection of
laboratory specimens and becomes subject to isolation and
quarantine as provided in this subsection (d), he or she shall
have the right to counsel pursuant to the provisions of
subsection (c) of this Section. To the extent feasible without
endangering the public's health, the Department shall respect
and accommodate the religious beliefs of individuals in
implementing this subsection.
(e) The Department may order the administration of
vaccines, medications, or other treatments to persons as
necessary in order to prevent the probable spread of a
dangerously contagious or infectious disease. A vaccine,
medication, or other treatment to be administered must not be
such as is reasonably likely to lead to serious harm to the
affected individual. To prevent the spread of a dangerously
contagious or infectious disease, the Department may, pursuant
to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section, isolate
or quarantine persons who are unable or unwilling to receive

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vaccines, medications, or other treatments pursuant to this
Section. An individual may refuse to receive vaccines,
medications, or other treatments. An individual shall be given
a written notice that shall include notice of the following:
(i) that the individual may refuse to consent to vaccines,
medications, or other treatments; (ii) that if the individual
refuses to receive vaccines, medications, or other treatments,
the individual may be subject to isolation or quarantine
pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this Section;
and (iii) that if the individual refuses to receive vaccines,
medications, or other treatments and becomes subject to
isolation or quarantine as provided in this subsection (e), he
or she shall have the right to counsel pursuant to the
provisions of subsection (c) of this Section. To the extent
feasible without endangering the public's health, the
Department shall respect and accommodate the religious beliefs
of individuals in implementing this subsection.
(f) The Department may order observation and monitoring of
persons to prevent the probable spread of a dangerously
contagious or infectious disease. To prevent the spread of a
dangerously contagious or infectious disease, the Department
may, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this
Section, isolate or quarantine persons whose refusal to
undergo observation and monitoring results in uncertainty
regarding whether he or she has been exposed to or is infected
with a dangerously contagious or infectious disease or

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otherwise poses a danger to the public's health. An individual
may refuse to undergo observation and monitoring. An
individual shall be given written notice that shall include
notice of the following: (i) that the individual may refuse to
undergo observation and monitoring; (ii) that if the
individual consents to observation and monitoring, the results
of that observation and monitoring may subject the individual
to isolation or quarantine pursuant to the provisions of
subsection (c) of this Section; (iii) that if the individual
refuses to undergo observation and monitoring and that refusal
results in uncertainty regarding whether he or she has been
exposed to or is infected with a dangerously contagious or
infectious disease or otherwise poses a danger to the public's
health, the individual may be subject to isolation or
quarantine pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of
this Section; and (iv) that if the individual refuses to
undergo observation and monitoring and becomes subject to
isolation or quarantine as provided in this subsection (f), he
or she shall have the right to counsel pursuant to the
provisions of subsection (c) of this Section.
(g) To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or
infectious disease among humans, the Department may examine,
test, disinfect, seize, or destroy animals or other related
property believed to be sources of infection. An owner of such
animal or other related property shall be given written notice
regarding such examination, testing, disinfection, seizure, or

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destruction. When the Department determines that any animal or
related property is infected with or has been exposed to a
dangerously contagious or infectious disease, it may agree
with the owner upon the value of the animal or of any related
property that it may be found necessary to destroy, and in case
such an agreement cannot be made, the animals or related
property shall be appraised by 3 competent and disinterested
appraisers, one to be selected by the Department, one by the
claimant, and one by the 2 appraisers thus selected. The
appraisers shall subscribe to an oath made in writing to
fairly value the animals or related property in accordance
with the requirements of this Act. The oath, together with the
valuation fixed by the appraisers, shall be filed with the
Department and preserved by it. Upon the appraisal being made,
the owner or the Department shall immediately destroy the
animals by "humane euthanasia" as that term is defined in
Section 2.09 of the Humane Care for Animals Act. Dogs and cats,
however, shall be euthanized pursuant to the provisions of the
Humane Euthanasia in Animal Shelters Act. The owner or the
Department shall additionally, dispose of the carcasses, and
disinfect, change, or destroy the premises occupied by the
animals, in accordance with rules prescribed by the Department
governing such destruction and disinfection. Upon his or her
failure so to do or to cooperate with the Department, the
Department shall cause the animals or related property to be
destroyed and disposed of in the same manner, and thereupon

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the owner shall forfeit all right to receive any compensation
for the destruction of the animals or related property. All
final administrative decisions of the Department hereunder
shall be subject to judicial review pursuant to the provisions
of the Administrative Review Law, and all amendments and
modifications thereof, and the rules adopted pursuant thereto.
The term "administrative decision" is defined as in Section
3-101 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(h) To prevent the spread of a dangerously contagious or
infectious disease, the Department, local boards of health,
and local public health authorities shall have emergency
access to medical or health information or records or data
upon the condition that the Department, local boards of
health, and local public health authorities shall protect the
privacy and confidentiality of any medical or health
information or records or data obtained pursuant to this
Section in accordance with federal and State law. Emergency
access to medical or health information, records, or data
shall include access to electronic health records, provided
that the local public health authority shall be unable to
alter the electronic health records. A person, facility,
institution, or agency providing information under this
subsection may withhold a patient's mental or behavioral
health history. Additionally, any such medical or health
information or records or data shall be exempt from inspection
and copying under the Freedom of Information Act. Other than a

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hearing for the purpose of this Act, any information, records,
reports, statements, notes, memoranda, or other data in the
possession of the Department, local boards of health, or local
public health authorities 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. The access to
or disclosure of any of this information or data by the
Department, a local board of health, or a local public
authority shall not waive or have any effect upon its
non-discoverability or non-admissibility. Any person,
facility, institution, or agency that provides emergency
access to health information and data under this subsection
shall have immunity from any civil or criminal liability, or
any other type of liability that might otherwise result by
reason of these actions except in the event of willful and
wanton misconduct. The privileged quality of communication
between any professional person or any facility shall not
constitute grounds for failure to provide emergency access.
Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the sharing of
information as authorized in Section 2.1 of this Act. The
disclosure of any of this information, records, reports,
statements, notes, memoranda, or other data obtained in any
activity under this Act, except that necessary for the
purposes of this Act, is unlawful, and any person convicted of
violating this provision is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(i) (A) The Department, in order to prevent and

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control disease, injury, or disability among citizens of
the State of Illinois, may develop and implement, in
consultation with local public health authorities, a
Statewide system for syndromic data collection through the
access to interoperable networks, information exchanges,
and databases. The Department may also develop a system
for the reporting of comprehensive, integrated data to
identify and address unusual occurrences of disease
symptoms and other medical complexes affecting the
public's health.
(B) The Department may enter into contracts or
agreements with individuals, corporations, hospitals,
universities, not-for-profit corporations, governmental
entities, or other organizations, whereby those
individuals or entities agree to provide assistance in the
compilation of the syndromic data collection and reporting
system.
(C) The Department shall not release any syndromic
data or information obtained pursuant to this subsection
to any individuals or entities for purposes other than the
protection of the public health. All access to data by the
Department, reports made to the Department, the identity
of or facts that would tend to lead to the identity of the
individual who is the subject of the report, and the
identity of or facts that would tend to lead to the
identity of the author of the report shall be strictly

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confidential, are not subject to inspection or
dissemination, and shall be used only for public health
purposes by the Department, local public health
authorities, or the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Entities or individuals submitting reports or
providing access to the Department shall not be held
liable for the release of information or confidential data
to the Department in accordance with this subsection.
(D) Nothing in this subsection prohibits the sharing
of information as authorized in Section 2.1 of this Act.
(j) This Section shall be considered supplemental to the
existing authority 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.
(k) Any person who knowingly or maliciously disseminates
any false information or report concerning the existence of
any dangerously contagious or infectious disease in connection
with the Department's power of quarantine, isolation and
closure or refuses to comply with a quarantine, isolation or
closure order is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(l) The Department of Public Health may establish and
maintain a chemical and bacteriologic laboratory for the
examination of water and wastes, and for the diagnosis of
diphtheria, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, malarial fever and
such other diseases as it deems necessary for the protection

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of the public health.
As used in this Act, "locality" means any governmental
agency which exercises power pertaining to public health in an
area less than the State.
The terms "sanitary investigations and inspections" and
"sanitary practices" as used in this Act shall not include or
apply to "Public Water Supplies" or "Sewage Works" as defined
in the Environmental Protection Act. The Department may adopt
rules that are reasonable and necessary to implement and
effectuate this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly.
(m) The public health measures set forth in subsections
(a) through (h) of this Section may be used by the Department
to respond to chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents or
events. The individual provisions of subsections (a) through
(h) of this Section apply to any order issued by the Department
under this Section. The provisions of subsection (k) apply to
chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents or events. Prior to
the Department issuing an order for public health measures set
forth in this Act for chemical, radiological, or nuclear
agents or events as authorized in subsection (m), the
Department and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall
consult in accordance with the Illinois emergency response
framework. When responding to chemical, radiological, or
nuclear agents or events, the Department shall determine the
health related risks and appropriate public health response
measures and provide recommendations for response to the

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Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Nothing in this Section
shall supersede the current National Incident Management
System and the Illinois Emergency Operation Plan or response
plans and procedures established pursuant to IEMA statutes.
(Source: P.A. 96-698, eff. 8-25-09.)
Section 40. The Vital Records Act is amended by changing
Section 24 as follows:
(410 ILCS 535/24) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-24)
Sec. 24. (1) To protect the integrity of vital records, to
insure their proper use, and to insure the efficient and
proper administration of the vital records system, access to
vital records, and indexes thereof, including vital records in
the custody of local registrars and county clerks originating
prior to January 1, 1916, is limited to the custodian and his
employees, and then only for administrative purposes, except
that the indexes of those records in the custody of local
registrars and county clerks, originating prior to January 1,
1916, shall be made available to persons for the purpose of
genealogical research. Original, photographic or
microphotographic reproductions of original records of births
100 years old and older and deaths 50 years old and older, and
marriage records 75 years old and older on file in the State
Office of Vital Records and in the custody of the county clerks
may be made available for inspection in the Illinois State

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Archives reference area, Illinois Regional Archives
Depositories, and other libraries approved by the Illinois
State Registrar and the Director of the Illinois State
Archives, provided that the photographic or microphotographic
copies are made at no cost to the county or to the State of
Illinois. It is unlawful for any custodian to permit
inspection of, or to disclose information contained in, vital
records, or to copy or permit to be copied, all or part of any
such record except as authorized by this Act or regulations
adopted pursuant thereto.
(2) The State Registrar of Vital Records, or his agent,
and any municipal, county, multi-county, public health
district, or regional health officer recognized by the
Department may examine vital records for the purpose only of
carrying out the public health programs and responsibilities
under his jurisdiction.
(3) The State Registrar of Vital Records, may disclose, or
authorize the disclosure of, data contained in the vital
records when deemed essential for bona fide research purposes
which are not for private gain.
This amendatory Act of 1973 does not apply to any home rule
unit.
(4) The State Registrar shall exchange with the Department
of Healthcare and Family Services information that may be
necessary for the establishment of paternity and the
establishment, modification, and enforcement of child support

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orders entered pursuant to the Illinois Public Aid Code, the
Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the
Non-Support of Spouse and Children Act, the Non-Support
Punishment Act, the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of
Support Act, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the
Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, or the Illinois Parentage Act
of 2015. Notwithstanding any provisions in this Act to the
contrary, the State Registrar shall not be liable to any
person for any disclosure of information to the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services (formerly Illinois Department
of Public Aid) under this subsection or for any other action
taken in good faith to comply with the requirements of this
subsection.
(5) No rule adopted by the Department shall be construed,
either explicitly or implicitly, as restricting access to
vital records by any municipality, county, multicounty, public
health district, or regional health officer recognized by the
Department for the purposes described in subsections (2) and
(3).
(Source: P.A. 99-85, eff. 1-1-16.)
Section 45. The Illinois Controlled Substances Act is
amended by changing Section 318 as follows:
(720 ILCS 570/318)
Sec. 318. Confidentiality of information.

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(a) Information received by the central repository under
Section 316 and former Section 321 is confidential.
(a-1) To ensure the federal Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act privacy of an individual's prescription
data reported to the Prescription Monitoring Program received
from a retail dispenser under this Act, and in order to execute
the duties and responsibilities under Section 316 of this Act
and rules for disclosure under this Section, the Clinical
Director of the Prescription Monitoring Program or his or her
designee shall maintain direct access to all Prescription
Monitoring Program data. Any request for Prescription
Monitoring Program data from any other department or agency
must be approved in writing by the Clinical Director of the
Prescription Monitoring Program or his or her designee unless
otherwise permitted by law. Prescription Monitoring Program
data shall only be disclosed as permitted by law.
(a-2) As an active step to address the current opioid
crisis in this State and to prevent and reduce addiction
resulting from a sports injury or an accident, the
Prescription Monitoring Program and the Department of Public
Health shall coordinate a continuous review of the
Prescription Monitoring Program and the Department of Public
Health data to determine if a patient may be at risk of opioid
addiction. Each patient discharged from any medical facility
with an International Classification of Disease, 10th edition
code related to a sport or accident injury shall be subject to

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the data review. If the discharged patient is dispensed a
controlled substance, the Prescription Monitoring Program
shall alert the patient's prescriber as to the addiction risk
and urge each to follow the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention guidelines or his or her respective profession's
treatment guidelines related to the patient's injury. This
subsection (a-2), other than this sentence, is inoperative on
or after January 1, 2024.
(b) The Department must carry out a program to protect the
confidentiality of the information described in subsection
(a). The Department may disclose the information to another
person only under subsection (c), (d), or (f) and may charge a
fee not to exceed the actual cost of furnishing the
information.
(c) The Department may disclose confidential information
described in subsection (a) to any person who is engaged in
receiving, processing, or storing the information.
(d) The Department may release confidential information
described in subsection (a) to the following persons:
(1) A governing body that licenses practitioners and
is engaged in an investigation, an adjudication, or a
prosecution of a violation under any State or federal law
that involves a controlled substance.
(2) An investigator for the Consumer Protection
Division of the office of the Attorney General, a
prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, a deputy

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Attorney General, or an investigator from the office of
the Attorney General, who is engaged in any of the
following activities involving controlled substances:
(A) an investigation;
(B) an adjudication; or
(C) a prosecution of a violation under any State
or federal law that involves a controlled substance.
(3) A law enforcement officer who is:
(A) authorized by the Illinois State Police or the
office of a county sheriff or State's Attorney or
municipal police department of Illinois to receive
information of the type requested for the purpose of
investigations involving controlled substances; or
(B) approved by the Department to receive
information of the type requested for the purpose of
investigations involving controlled substances; and
(C) engaged in the investigation or prosecution of
a violation under any State or federal law that
involves a controlled substance.
(4) Select representatives of the Department of
Children and Family Services through the indirect online
request process. Access shall be established by an
intergovernmental agreement between the Department of
Children and Family Services and the Department of Human
Services.
(5) A certified local health department engaged in the

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performance of epidemiological studies, the application of
data science methods, or other analytic models that
protect and promote public health.
(e) Except in the case of release under paragraph (5) of
subsection (d) of confidential information to a certified
local health department for the purpose of the performance of
epidemiological studies, the application of data science
methods, or other analytic models that protect and promote
public health, before Before the Department releases
confidential information under subsection (d), the applicant
must demonstrate in writing to the Department that:
(1) the applicant has reason to believe that a
violation under any State or federal law that involves a
controlled substance has occurred; and
(2) the requested information is reasonably related to
the investigation, adjudication, or prosecution of the
violation described in subdivision (1).
(f) The Department may receive and release prescription
record information under Section 316 and former Section 321
to:
(1) a governing body that licenses practitioners;
(2) an investigator for the Consumer Protection
Division of the office of the Attorney General, a
prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General, a deputy
Attorney General, or an investigator from the office of
the Attorney General;

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(3) any Illinois law enforcement officer who is:
(A) authorized to receive the type of information
released; and
(B) approved by the Department to receive the type
of information released; or
(4) prescription monitoring entities in other states
per the provisions outlined in subsection (g) and (h)
below;
confidential prescription record information collected under
Sections 316 and 321 (now repealed) that identifies vendors or
practitioners, or both, who are prescribing or dispensing
large quantities of Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled
substances outside the scope of their practice, pharmacy, or
business, as determined by the Advisory Committee created by
Section 320.
(g) The information described in subsection (f) may not be
released until it has been reviewed by an employee of the
Department who is licensed as a prescriber or a dispenser and
until that employee has certified that further investigation
is warranted. However, failure to comply with this subsection
(g) does not invalidate the use of any evidence that is
otherwise admissible in a proceeding described in subsection
(h).
(h) An investigator or a law enforcement officer receiving
confidential information under subsection (c), (d), or (f) may
disclose the information to a law enforcement officer or an

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attorney for the office of the Attorney General for use as
evidence in the following:
(1) A proceeding under any State or federal law that
involves a controlled substance.
(2) A criminal proceeding or a proceeding in juvenile
court that involves a controlled substance.
(i) The Department may compile statistical reports from
the information described in subsection (a). The reports must
not include information that identifies, by name, license or
address, any practitioner, dispenser, ultimate user, or other
person administering a controlled substance.
(j) Based upon federal, initial and maintenance funding, a
prescriber and dispenser inquiry system shall be developed to
assist the health care community in its goal of effective
clinical practice and to prevent patients from diverting or
abusing medications.
(1) An inquirer shall have read-only access to a
stand-alone database which shall contain records for the
previous 12 months.
(2) Dispensers may, upon positive and secure
identification, make an inquiry on a patient or customer
solely for a medical purpose as delineated within the
federal HIPAA law.
(3) The Department shall provide a one-to-one secure
link and encrypted software necessary to establish the
link between an inquirer and the Department. Technical

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assistance shall also be provided.
(4) Written inquiries are acceptable but must include
the fee and the requestor's Drug Enforcement
Administration license number and submitted upon the
requestor's business stationery.
(5) As directed by the Prescription Monitoring Program
Advisory Committee and the Clinical Director for the
Prescription Monitoring Program, aggregate data that does
not indicate any prescriber, practitioner, dispenser, or
patient may be used for clinical studies.
(6) Tracking analysis shall be established and used
per administrative rule.
(7) Nothing in this Act or Illinois law shall be
construed to require a prescriber or dispenser to make use
of this inquiry system.
(8) If there is an adverse outcome because of a
prescriber or dispenser making an inquiry, which is
initiated in good faith, the prescriber or dispenser shall
be held harmless from any civil liability.
(k) The Department shall establish, by rule, the process
by which to evaluate possible erroneous association of
prescriptions to any licensed prescriber or end user of the
Illinois Prescription Information Library (PIL).
(l) The Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee
is authorized to evaluate the need for and method of
establishing a patient specific identifier.

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(m) Patients who identify prescriptions attributed to them
that were not obtained by them shall be given access to their
personal prescription history pursuant to the validation
process as set forth by administrative rule.
(n) The Prescription Monitoring Program is authorized to
develop operational push reports to entities with compatible
electronic medical records. The process shall be covered
within administrative rule established by the Department.
(o) Hospital emergency departments and freestanding
healthcare facilities providing healthcare to walk-in patients
may obtain, for the purpose of improving patient care, a
unique identifier for each shift to utilize the PIL system.
(p) The Prescription Monitoring Program shall
automatically create a log-in to the inquiry system when a
prescriber or dispenser obtains or renews his or her
controlled substance license. The Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation must provide the Prescription
Monitoring Program with electronic access to the license
information of a prescriber or dispenser to facilitate the
creation of this profile. The Prescription Monitoring Program
shall send the prescriber or dispenser information regarding
the inquiry system, including instructions on how to log into
the system, instructions on how to use the system to promote
effective clinical practice, and opportunities for continuing
education for the prescribing of controlled substances. The
Prescription Monitoring Program shall also send to all

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enrolled prescribers, dispensers, and designees information
regarding the unsolicited reports produced pursuant to Section
314.5 of this Act.
(q) A prescriber or dispenser may authorize a designee to
consult the inquiry system established by the Department under
this subsection on his or her behalf, provided that all the
following conditions are met:
(1) the designee so authorized is employed by the same
hospital or health care system; is employed by the same
professional practice; or is under contract with such
practice, hospital, or health care system;
(2) the prescriber or dispenser takes reasonable steps
to ensure that such designee is sufficiently competent in
the use of the inquiry system;
(3) the prescriber or dispenser remains responsible
for ensuring that access to the inquiry system by the
designee is limited to authorized purposes and occurs in a
manner that protects the confidentiality of the
information obtained from the inquiry system, and remains
responsible for any breach of confidentiality; and
(4) the ultimate decision as to whether or not to
prescribe or dispense a controlled substance remains with
the prescriber or dispenser.
The Prescription Monitoring Program shall send to
registered designees information regarding the inquiry system,
including instructions on how to log onto the system.

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(r) The Prescription Monitoring Program shall maintain an
Internet website in conjunction with its prescriber and
dispenser inquiry system. This website shall include, at a
minimum, the following information:
(1) current clinical guidelines developed by health
care professional organizations on the prescribing of
opioids or other controlled substances as determined by
the Advisory Committee;
(2) accredited continuing education programs related
to prescribing of controlled substances;
(3) programs or information developed by health care
professionals that may be used to assess patients or help
ensure compliance with prescriptions;
(4) updates from the Food and Drug Administration, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other
public and private organizations which are relevant to
prescribing;
(5) relevant medical studies related to prescribing;
(6) other information regarding the prescription of
controlled substances; and
(7) information regarding prescription drug disposal
events, including take-back programs or other disposal
options or events.
The content of the Internet website shall be periodically
reviewed by the Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory
Committee as set forth in Section 320 and updated in

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accordance with the recommendation of the advisory committee.
(s) The Prescription Monitoring Program shall regularly
send electronic updates to the registered users of the
Program. The Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory
Committee shall review any communications sent to registered
users and also make recommendations for communications as set
forth in Section 320. These updates shall include the
following information:
(1) opportunities for accredited continuing education
programs related to prescribing of controlled substances;
(2) current clinical guidelines developed by health
care professional organizations on the prescribing of
opioids or other drugs as determined by the Advisory
Committee;
(3) programs or information developed by health care
professionals that may be used to assess patients or help
ensure compliance with prescriptions;
(4) updates from the Food and Drug Administration, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other
public and private organizations which are relevant to
prescribing;
(5) relevant medical studies related to prescribing;
(6) other information regarding prescribing of
controlled substances;
(7) information regarding prescription drug disposal
events, including take-back programs or other disposal

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options or events; and
(8) reminders that the Prescription Monitoring Program
is a useful clinical tool.
(Source: P.A. 99-480, eff. 9-9-15; 100-125, eff. 1-1-18;
100-1093, eff. 8-26-18.)