*TITLE 32.1. HEALTH; CHAPTER 7.2. HEALTH CARE DATA REPORTING; ARTICLE 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

§ 32.1-276.9. (Effective until July 1, 2003) Confidentiality, subsequent release of data and relief from liability for reporting; penalty for wrongful disclosure; individual action for damages

"Patient level data collected pursuant to this chapter shall be exempt from the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.1-340 et seq.), shall be considered confidential, and shall not be disclosed other than as specifically authorized by this chapter; however, upon processing and verification by the nonprofit organization, all patient level data shall be publicly available, except patient, physician, and employer identifier elements, which may be released solely for research purposes if otherwise permitted by law and only if such identifier is encrypted and cannot be reasonably expected to reveal patient identities."

*Note: This statutory text is given for illustrative purposes only. It may represent only that portion of the statute that FOIA mentions. There may have been legislative changes to the statute as well. Check the most recent, official version of the Virginia Code before relying on any provision seen here.