Chapter 141-B: Chronic Disease Prevention, Assessment and Control

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "chronic disease prevention, assessment and control act."

The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the establishment of activities for the prevention, assessment, and control of chronic diseases which may be attributed to the environment, individual lifestyle, or the workplace.

As used in this chapter:

I. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of health and human services.

II. "Department" means the department of health and human services.

III. "Chronic disease" means any disease, illness, impairment, or other physical condition which requires medical care and treatment over a prolonged period. In general, such diseases, while amenable to treatment, are irreversible in nature and frequently progress to increasing disability or death.

IV. "Prevention services" means organized activities which are capable of reducing the incidence and prevalence of chronic disease.

V. "Risk assessment" means the measurement and evaluation of specific lifestyle and environmental conditions to determine the presence of and extent of the threat resulting from these factors that may increase the risk of developing chronic disease.

VI. "Facility" means a governmental or private agency, department, institution, clinic, laboratory, hospital, health maintenance organization, association, physician, or other similar unit diagnosing or providing treatment for cancer.

VII. "Screening" means activities which may be used to identify the earliest signs of a chronic disease.

The commissioner shall:

I. Educate the public regarding factors associated with the risk of developing chronic diseases;

II. Monitor the morbidity and mortality of chronic diseases;

III. Evaluate available health data for use in delivering prevention services;

IV. Offer screening and prevention services to population groups at risk of developing chronic disease; and

V. Undertake risk assessment activities.

There shall be established in the department a cancer registry for compilation and analysis of information relating to the incidence, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

All facilities shall provide a report to the cancer registry, including social security numbers if persons were given the option at the original point of collection to provide social security numbers voluntarily, containing information regarding a cancer diagnosed or being treated. Each report of cancer shall include items listed in rules adopted under RSA 541-A in accordance with the elements listed in the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, Standards for Cancer Registries as amended from time to time and available. The department shall review any such amendment and if it determines that an amendment is not appropriate for New Hampshire, the amendment shall not be incorporated into the rules or be implemented by the department.

The commissioner shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to:

I. Conducting prevention and screening services and delivering education programs;

II. Content and design of all forms and reports required by this chapter;

III. The procedures for disclosure of information gathered by the cancer registry, by monitoring and evaluating health data, and from completed risk assessments; and

IV. [Repealed.]

I. A report provided to the cancer registry disclosing the identity of an individual, who was reported as having a cancer, shall only be released to persons demonstrating a need which is essential to health-related research, except that the release shall be conditioned upon the personal identities remaining confidential.

II. Analyses and compilations of data prepared under RSA 141-B:4 which do not disclose the identity of an individual and which cannot be used to surmise an identity shall be available to the public under RSA 91-A.

III. The physician-patient privilege shall not apply to reports prepared pursuant to RSA 141-B:7.

Reports provided to the cancer registry under RSA 141-B:7, and analyses and data prepared under RSA 141-B:4, II, III, and V shall be maintained by the department in a manner suitable for chronic disease and cancer research purposes, and shall be available to persons as prescribed in RSA 141-B:9.