Confidentiality of All Tests and Personal Information - Mo. Rev. Stat. § 191.317

The statute above relates to the confidentiality of tests performed by licensed practitioners.

The state provides that all testing results and personal information obtained during testing shall be considered a confidential medical record and may only be released with consent of the patient.  Also, the individual must be fully informed of the scope of the information to be released, including to whom the information will be released as well as the risks, benefits and purposes of the release.  The statute notes that statistical data compiled without referencing an individual’s identity is not considered confidential data. 

Additionally, the statute provides that all specimens shall be retained for five years after initial submission to the Department of Health and Senior Services (Department), after which time it will be destroyed.  However, the statute does not prohibit release of a biological specimen for anonymous scientific study, provided it does not contain information that could be used to determine the identity of the donor.