Statewide cancer registry.

(1) Each facility licensed under chapter 395 and each freestanding radiation therapy center as defined in s. 408.07 shall report to the Department of Health such information, specified by the department, by rule, which indicates diagnosis, stage of disease, medical history, laboratory data, tissue diagnosis, and radiation, surgical, or other methods of diagnosis or treatment for each cancer diagnosed or treated by the facility or center. Failure to comply with this requirement may be cause for registration or licensure suspension or revocation.

(2) The department shall establish, or cause to have established, by contract with a recognized medical organization in this state and its affiliated institutions, a statewide cancer registry program to ensure that cancer reports required under this section shall be maintained and available for use in the course of any study for the purpose of reducing morbidity or mortality; and no liability of any kind or character for damages or other relief shall arise or be enforced against any hospital by reason of having provided such information or material to the department.

(3) The department or a contractual designee operating the statewide cancer registry program required by this section shall use or publish said material only for the purpose of advancing medical research or medical education in the interest of reducing morbidity or mortality, except that a summary of such studies may be released for general publication. Information which discloses or could lead to the disclosure of the identity of any person whose condition or treatment has been reported and studied shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1), except that:

(a) Release may be made with the written consent of all persons to whom the information applies;

(b) The department or a contractual designee may contact individuals for the purpose of epidemiologic investigation and monitoring, provided information that is confidential under this section is not further disclosed; or

(c) The department may exchange personal data with any other governmental agency or a contractual designee for the purpose of medical or scientific research, provided such governmental agency or contractual designee shall not further disclose information that is confidential under this section.

(4) Funds appropriated for this section shall be used for establishing, administering, compiling, processing, and providing biometric and statistical analyses to the reporting facilities. Funds may also be used to ensure the quality and accuracy of the information reported and to provide management information to the reporting facilities.

(5) The department may, by rule, classify facilities for purposes of reports made to the cancer registry and specify the content and frequency of the reports. In classifying facilities, the department shall exempt certain facilities from reporting cancer information that was previously reported to the department or retrieved from existing state reports made to the department or the Agency for Health Care Administration. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any facility whose primary function is to provide psychiatric care to its patients.