WAC 246-101-015   Provisional condition notification.  This section describes how conditions can become notifiable; what period of time conditions are provisionally notifiable; what analyses must be accomplished during provisional notification status; the transition of provisionally notifiable conditions to permanent notification or deletion of notification requirements. The department's goal for provisionally notifiable conditions is to collect enough information to determine whether requiring notification improves public health.

     (1) The state health officer may:

     (a) Request reporting of cases and suspected cases of disease and conditions in addition to those required in Tables HC-1, Lab-1, and HF-1 on a provisional basis for a period of time less than forty-eight months when:

     (i) The disease or condition is newly recognized or recently acknowledged as a public health concern;

     (ii) Epidemiological investigation based on notification of cases may contribute to understanding of the disease or condition;

     (iii) There is reason to expect that the information acquired through notification will assist the state and/or local health department to design or implement intervention strategies that will result in an improvement in public health; and

     (iv) Written notification is provided to all local health officers regarding:

     (A) Additional reporting requirements; and

     (B) Rationale or justification for specifying the disease or condition as notifiable.

     (b) Request laboratories to submit specimens indicative of infections in addition to those required in Table Lab-1 on a provisional basis for a period of time less than forty-eight months, if:

     (i) The infection is of public health concern;

     (ii) The department has a plan for using data gathered from the specimens; and

     (iii) Written notification is provided to all local health officers and all laboratory directors explaining:

     (A) Actions required; and

     (B) Reason for the addition.

     (2) Within forty months of the state health officer's designation of a condition as provisionally notifiable in subsection (1) of this section, or requests for laboratories to submit specimens indicative of infections in subsection (2) of this section, the department will conduct an evaluation for the notification requirement that:

     (a) Estimates the societal cost resulting from the provisionally notifiable condition;

     (i) Determine the prevalence of the provisional notifiable condition; and

     (ii) Identify the quantifiable costs resulting from the provisionally notifiable condition; and

     (iii) Discuss the qualitative costs resulting from the provisionally notifiable condition.

     (b) Describes how the information was used and how it will continue to be used to design and implement intervention strategies aimed at combating the provisionally notifiable condition;

     (c) Verifies the effectiveness of previous intervention strategies at reducing the incidence, morbidity, or mortality of the provisional notifiable condition;

     (d) Identifies the quantitative and qualitative costs of the provisional notification requirement;

     (e) Compares the costs of the provisional notification requirement with the estimated cost savings resulting from the intervention based on the information provided through the provisional notification requirement;

     (f) Describes the effectiveness and utility of using the notifiable conditions process as a mechanism to collect these data; and

     (g) Describes that a less burdensome data collection system (example: Biennial surveys) would not provide the information needed to effectively establish and maintain the intervention strategies.

     (3) Based upon the evaluation in subsection (2) of this section, the board will assess results of the evaluation after the particular condition is notifiable or the requirement for laboratories to submit specimens indicative of infections has been in place for no longer than forty months. The board will determine based upon the results of the evaluation whether the provisionally notifiable condition or the requirement for laboratories to submit specimens indicative of infections should be:

     (a) Permanently notifiable in the same manner as the provisional notification requirement;

     (b) Permanently notifiable in a manner that would use the evaluation results to redesign the notification requirements; or

     (c) Deleted from the notifiable conditions system.

     (4) The department shall have the authority to declare an emergency and institute notification requirements under the provisions of RCW 34.05.350.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20.050, 70.24.125. 05-03-055, § 246-101-015, filed 1/11/05, effective 2/11/05. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20.050. 00-23-120, § 246-101-015, filed 11/22/00, effective 12/23/00.]