Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 70.104.030, 43.70.545, and 70.54.270.

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: Rule making in this area is designed to coordinate and integrate public health reporting systems. Currently there are over seventy different reportable diseases and conditions in Washington. These diseases and conditions are reported to the department through several different tracks, there is not a single, coordinated entry point to public health for health care providers and facilities to report. There are also many diseases that are currently notifiable, that in today's world are not public health surveillance priorities. Additionally there are several diseases that are not currently notifiable that public health has seen the need to collect.

Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: The State Board of Health also has rule-making authority to designate diseases and conditions as notifiable. This project is designed to review all of those regulations simultaneously, and to develop a system that is best suited to the needs of consumers, reporters and the public health system.

Process for Developing New Rule: Negotiated rule making; and agency study.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Greg Smith, Legislative/Regulatory Affairs Coordinator, Community and Family Health, Washington State Department of Health, P.O. Box 47830, Olympia, WA 98504-7830, (360) 236-3704, (360) 664-4500, e-mail gts0303@hub.doh.wa.gov.

April 10, 1998

Bruce Miyahara

Secretary