§325-125  Registry record requirements; duration of retention.  (a)  The establishment of an individual's record in the registry shall not require the prior consent of a patient or the consent of a patient's parent or legal guardian in the case of a minor or dependent.

     (b)  The department of health shall make available to the patient or the patient's parent or legal guardian in the case of a minor or dependent, via the patient's health care provider or birthing hospital, a written description of the purpose and benefits of the registry as well as the procedure for refusing inclusion in the registry.

     (c)  A patient's, or in the case of a minor, the minor's parent's or legal guardian's, choice to refuse inclusion in the registry shall be documented in writing on a form or in a format approved by the department of health.

     (d)  Each health care provider or birthing hospital shall maintain the records of refusal of inclusion and shall report any refusal to the department of health in a manner specified by rule.

     (e)  When a patient, or in the case of a minor, the minor's parent or legal guardian, chooses to refuse inclusion in the registry, minimal demographic information, including the patient's name and date of birth, shall be maintained within the registry system to identify the patient as having elected to refuse inclusion in the registry.  If the patient has an existing record in the registry at the time that the refusal documentation is submitted, all other patient demographic and immunization information shall be removed from the registry.

     (f)  All registry authorized users shall make available for inspection by the department of health all medical records relating to patient demographic and immunization information recorded in the registry or documentation of the patient's, or in the case of a minor, the minor's parent's or legal guardian's refusal of inclusion in the registry for the purposes of performing registry-related quality improvement or quality assessment activities.

     (g)  Registry information for any individual included within the registry shall be retained as a part of the registry for twenty-five years after the last entry, except in the case of minors, whose records shall be retained during the period of minority plus twenty-five years after the minor reaches the age of majority.  At the conclusion of the retention period, the data stored in the registry for that individual shall be archived. [L 2010, c 113, pt of §1; am L 2012, c 275, §4]