(a) The Department of Health and Social Services may require reports and information from all public dispensaries, asylums, prisons and schools and from the managers, principals and officers thereof, and from all other public institutions, their officers and managers, and from the proprietors, managers, lessees and occupants of all places of public resort in the State but such reports and information shall only be required concerning matters and particulars in respect of which the Department of Health and Social Services may need information for the proper discharge of its duties.
(b) If any proprietor, manager, principal, superintendent, officer or physician in charge refuses and neglects to make a report when requested to do so by the Department of Health and Social Services, that person shall be fined not less than $5.00 nor more than $25, together with costs.
(c) The Delaware Division of Public Health and the Delaware Health Care Commission shall be authorized to request and receive licensing data (including, but not limited to, names, addresses, and license type) to the extent that the data is collected and electronically stored for the purpose of issuing and maintaining professional licenses by the Division of Professional Regulation. Licensing data shall only be used for the purpose of conducting official state business, which may include measuring and tracking the supply of licensed health care professionals in the State. The Delaware Division of Public Health and the Delaware Health Care Commission may share licensing data with their contractors to carry out the purpose of this subsection. The boards affected shall include but not be limited to:
(1) Delaware State Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline;
(2) Delaware State Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene;
(3) Delaware State Board of Nursing;
(4) Delaware State Board of Professional Counselors;
(5) Delaware State Board of Examiners of Psychologists;
(6) Delaware State Board of Clinical Social Work Examiners;
(7) Delaware State Board of Podiatry;
(8) Delaware State Board of Chiropractic;
(9) Delaware State Board of Occupational Therapy Practice;
(10) Delaware State Board of Examiners in Optometry;
(11) Delaware State Board of Pharmacy;
(12) Delaware State Examining Board of Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers;
(13) Delaware State Board of Examiners of Speech/Language Pathologists, Audiologists and Hearing Aid Dispensers;
(14) Delaware State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators; and
(15) Delaware State Committee of Dietetics/Nutrition.
(d) All data must be submitted in a standardized electronic format as determined by the Division of Public Health in consultation with the Division of Professional Regulation and the Delaware Health Care Commission. Data must be submitted within 20 business days of a request.
(e) For the purposes of measuring, tracking and projecting supply and demand of health-care professionals, the requesting entity shall provide to the Division of Professional Regulation any health workforce report developed from the data.
(f) Any individual data provided pursuant to this section shall be confidential. No public employee, commission member, or contractor acting on behalf of a state agency or employee of such a contractor may:
(1) Use any data provided pursuant to this section for any purpose other than the statistical, forecasting, and program purposes for which the data is furnished.
(2) Make public any of the data provided pursuant to this section that would allow the identity of any individual to be inferred by either direct or indirect means.
(3) Retain any personal data as provided in this section that is received by the Delaware Division of Public Health, the Delaware Health Care Commission or any contractor acting on behalf of these entities. Any personal data must be destroyed within 30 days of completion of its intended purpose as described in this section.
(g) An intentional violation of subsection (f) of this section shall result in the imposition of a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $20,000 or imprisonment of not less than 30 days nor more than 6 months, or both. Justices of the Peace shall have jurisdiction of offenses under this section.