Reporting of HIV Infection After Death – N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 2132

Reporting of HIV infection after death

This law requires coroners, pathologists and medical examiners who examine deceased persons to report any discovery of AIDS, HIV infection or HIV-related illness in a deceased person promptly to the commissioner as if the diagnosis had been made prior to the death.

Such a report is to include (according to N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 2130) information identifying the deceased person as well as the names, if available, of any “contacts” (defined as identified spouse or sex partner, person identified as having shared hypodermic needles/syringes, or any person who the deceased might have exposed to HIV) of the deceased person known to the physician.  The commissioner is then required to forward the report to the health commissioner of the municipality where the infection occurred.  The diagnosis is confidential, except for certain kinds of disclosures set forth in N.Y. Pub. Health Law §2135.  The physician may only disclose the diagnosis to the commissioner as part of his or her report, and, without specifically revealing the identity of the deceased person, to the contacts of the deceased person as per