BILL 33

An Act Respecting the Public Health Information Solution

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act

1( 1) Subsection 27(2.01) of the Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act, chapter P-7.05 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 2009, is repealed and the following is substituted: 

27( 2.01) Despite paragraph (1)(a), a District Education Council, through the superintendent of the school district, may collect personal health information relating to an individual without that individual’s consent if the collection is

afor the purpose of delivering public education under the Education Act, or

bto obtain proof of immunization under subsection 42.1(1) or (6) of the Public Health Act.

1( 2) Section 28 of the Act is amended

aby repealing paragraph (l.1) and substituting the following: 

l.1the custodian is the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development and collects the personal health information from a District Education Council, through the superintendent of the school district, for the purpose of

( i) delivering public education,

( ii) managing or administering school personnel employed in accordance with section 47.1 of the Education Act, or

( iii) obtaining proof of immunization under subsection 42.1(6) of the Public Health Act.

bin paragraph (m) of the English version by striking out “or” at the end of the paragraph;

cby adding after paragraph (m) the following: 

m.1the custodian is the Minister and is collecting personal health information from another custodian for the purposes of establishing or maintaining the notifiable disease registry or the immunization registry under the Public Health Act, or

1( 3) Subsection 38(1) of the Act is amended by adding after paragraph (f.3) the following: 

f.4necessary for establishing or maintaining the immunization registry or the notifiable disease registry under the Public Health Act,

f.5if the custodian is the Minister, to a District Education Council, a superintendant of a school district and a principal of the school for the purpose of disclosing proof of immunization under subsection 42.1(6) of the Public Health Act,

1( 4) Subsection 48(1) of the Act is amended

ain paragraph (c) of the English version by striking out “and” at the end of the paragraph;

bin paragraph (d) by striking out the period at the end of the paragraph and substituting a semicolon;

cby adding after paragraph (d) the following: 

eto obtain proof of immunization under subsection 42.1(1) of the Public Health Act; and

ffor the establishment or maintenance of the immunization registry or the notifiable disease registry under the Public Health Act.

Public Health Act

2( 1) The Public Health Act, chapter P-22.4 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 1998, is amended by adding after section 42 the following: 

Transmission of information

42.01 The chief medical officer of health or the medical officer of health who receives a report, issues a written directive, makes an order or makes an application to the court for an order under sections 27 to 42 shall disclose the information contained in the report, directive or order to the Minister in a manner the Minister considers appropriate.

2( 2) Section 42.1 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted: 

42.1( 1) In order to attain proof of immunization for a disease prescribed by regulation, the superintendent of the school district, through the principal of a school, shall require from the parent or legal guardian of a child attending school in the Province for the first time the following information:

athe name, date of birth and the Medicare number of the child if the principal of the school reasonably believes that the information in respect of the child is included in the immunization registry established by the Minister under section 42.3, or

bany other proof of immunization if the principal of the school reasonably believes that the information in respect of the child is not included in the immunization registry established by the Minister under section 42.3.

42.1( 2) The operator of an early learning and childcare facility shall require that proof of immunization is provided to him or her for any disease prescribed by regulation for a child attending that facility.

42.1( 3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), proof of immunization is not required if the parent or legal guardian of a child provides the following:

aa medical exemption, on a form provided by the Minister, that is signed by a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner, or

ba written statement, on a form provided by the Minister and signed by the parent or legal guardian, of his or her objections to the immunizations.

42.1( 4) A District Education Council, through the superintendent of the school district, shall provide the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development with any information received under subsection (1) and any medical exemption or written statement provided under subsection (3).

42.1( 5) The Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development shall forward to the Minister any information received under subsection (4).

42.1( 6) After having reviewed the information received under subsection (4) and the immunization registry established by the Minister, the Minister, through the chief medical officer of health or the medical officer of health, shall disclose to the principal of a school the immunization status of each child.

2( 3) The Act is amended by adding after section 42.1 the following: 

Notifiable disease registry

42.2 The Minister shall establish and maintain a notifiable disease registry that contains the information prescribed by regulation and any other information that the Minister considers necessary.

Immunization registry

42.3 The Minister shall establish and maintain an immunization registry that contains the information prescribed by regulation and any other information that the Minister considers necessary.

Regulation under the Public Health Act

3( 1) Section 6 of New Brunswick Regulation 2009-136 under the Public Health Act is amended

ain paragraph (g.1) of the English version by striking out “and” at the end of the paragraph;

bby adding after paragraph (g.1) the following: 

g.2the results, if any, of any testing conducted in order to determine if a person referred to in paragraph (b)

( i) has a notifiable disease, is infected with an agent of a notifiable disease or has suffered a notifiable event, or

( ii) who is a deceased person, had a notifiable disease, had been infected with an agent of a notifiable disease or had suffered a notifiable event;

3( 2) The Regulation is amended by adding after section 18 the following: 

Notifiable disease registry

18.1 For the purposes of section 42.2 of the Act, any information received by the Minister under section 42.01 of the Act shall be recorded in the notifiable disease registry.

Immunization registry

18.2 For the purposes of section 42.3 of the Act, the following shall be recorded in the immunization registry: 

aany information received by the Minister under subsection 42.1(5) of the Act;

bany information provided to the Minister under section 13;

cthe following information with respect to an account for service submitted to the Medicare Branch in accordance with subsection 11(2) of General Regulation – Medical Services Payment Act for the administration of a vaccine or biological preparation for a disease prescribed under subsection 12(1) of this Regulation: 

( i) the name and address of the person;

( ii) the Medicare number of the person;

( iii) the date of birth and gender of the person;

( iv) the date on which the vaccine or biological preparation was administered;

( v) the name and lot number of the vaccine or biological preparation; and

( vi) the name of the person who administered the vaccine or biological preparation.

Transitional provision

4 Any information that is in the care and control of the Minister of Health immediately before the coming into force of this section that would have been recorded in the notifiable disease registry established under section 42.2 of the Public Health Act or the immunization registry established under section 42.3 of the Public Health Act, as the case may be, after the coming into force of this section shall be deemed to be have been recorded in the respective registry.