(1) Any attending physician or other health care provider recognized as primarily responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of a patient or, in the absence of a primary health care provider, the health care provider initiating diagnostic testing or therapy for a patient shall report a case or suspected case of pesticide poisoning to the department of health in the manner prescribed by, and within the reasonable time periods established by, rules of the state board of health. Time periods established by the board shall range from immediate reporting to reporting within seven days depending on the severity of the case or suspected case of pesticide poisoning. The reporting requirements shall be patterned after other board rules establishing requirements for reporting of diseases or conditions. Confidentiality requirements shall be the same as the confidentiality requirements established for other reportable diseases or conditions. The information to be reported may include information from relevant pesticide application records and shall include information required under board rules. Reports shall be made on forms provided to health care providers by the department of health. For purposes of any oral reporting, the department of health shall make available a toll-free telephone number.

     (2) Within a reasonable time period as established by board rules, the department of health shall investigate the report of a case or suspected case of pesticide poisoning to document the incident. The department shall report the results of the investigation to the health care provider submitting the original report.

     (3) Cases or suspected cases of pesticide poisoning shall be reported by the department of health to the pesticide reporting and tracking review panel within the time periods established by state board of health rules.

     (4) Upon request of the primary health care provider, pesticide applicators or employers shall provide a copy of records of pesticide applications which may have affected the health of the provider's patient. This information is to be used only for the purposes of providing health care services to the patient.

     (5) Any failure of the primary health care provider to make the reports required under this section may be cause for the department of health to submit information about such nonreporting to the applicable disciplining authority for the provider under RCW 18.130.040.

     (6) No cause of action shall arise as the result of: (a) The failure to report under this section; or (b) any report submitted to the department of health under this section.

     (7) For the purposes of this section, a suspected case of pesticide poisoning is a case in which the diagnosis is thought more likely than not to be pesticide poisoning.

[1992 c 173 § 4; 1991 c 3 § 360; 1989 c 380 § 72.]

NOTES:

     Effective dates -- 1992 c 173: See note following RCW 17.21.100.

     Effective date -- 1989 c 380 §§ 69, 71-73: See note following RCW 70.104.090.

     Severability -- 1989 c 380: See RCW 15.58.942.