The following information about the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act is provided for information purposes and guidance only. If there is a conflict between this website and the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act or the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Regulation, the Act and Regulation prevail.

The Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act permits individuals to apply to the court for an order to have another person tested for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV if they have come into contact with a person’s bodily substance in any of the following circumstances:

• While providing emergency health services,
• While performing their duties as a fire fighter, emergency medical assistant or police or other peace officer, or
• When they have reason to believe that they have been the victim of an alleged offence under the Criminal Code (Canada) and have reported the matter to a law enforcement agency.

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• An “exposed individual” is an individual who comes into contact with another person’s blood or other bodily substance.
• The “source individual” is the person an exposed individual identifies as the person whose blood or other bodily substance they came into contact with.
• The “applicant” refers to an exposed individual applying to the court for a Testing Order.

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The exposed individual can fill in the following information on the Notice of Intention Form on-line and then print the completed form, or you can print the form and fill it in by hand:

• The name of the source individual and their address if you know it.
• Your name filled out as the exposed individual.
• Details on the date and circumstances of your exposure to the blood or other bodily substance of the source individual.
• The name and requested contact information for your physician.

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The exposed individual can fill in the following information on the Application to Obtain a Testing Order online and then print the completed form, or you can print the form and fill it in by hand:

• Your name (exposed individual) as the name of the applicant.
• The name of the source individual as the name of the respondent.
• Your name, date of birth and contact information as the applicant.
• The name and as much of the requested information as you know about the source individual. If you do not know the information, leave the space blank.
• Details on the date and circumstances of your exposure to the blood or other bodily substance of the source individual.
• Add the date and your signature as the applicant.

The Provincial Court registry office will fill in the court file number, court location and the date, time and location of the court hearing when you file the Application with the court.

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The exposed individual files the following documents with the Provincial Court registry office to make an Application:

• The original and 3 copies of the completed Application to Obtain a Testing Order,
• The original and 3 copies of the completed Physicians’ Report,
• A copy of the Notice of Intention to apply for a testing order that you served on the source individual,
• Any Affidavit of Personal Service, completed with the details relating to the Notice of Intention that you served on the source individual, and
• A Testing Order template, completed with the details for the testing order that you are asking the court to make.

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The Physician’s Report is completed by the applicant’s (exposed individual) physician and includes:

• Information about the exposure situation,
• The physician’s assessment of the exposure risk to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV, and
• The physician’s opinion about the need for a Testing Order.

The Physician’s Report is a required form that is part of the Application to Obtain a Testing Order, and is also served on the source individual with the Application. The court will consider the Physician’s Report when granting a Testing Order.

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The Provincial Court takes into account the Physician’s Report and other evidence that it considers relevant. The court may grant a Testing Order if it is satisfied with all of the following:

• The applicant (exposed individual) personally served the source individual with:
  • The required Notice of Intention at least 3 days before the Application to Obtain a Testing Order, and
  • The Application to Obtain a Testing Order (including the Physician’s Report) at least 4 days before the hearing date.
  • The above steps are required unless the applicant has satisfied the court that, in the circumstances, serving the Notice of Intention or the Application to Obtain a Testing Order within a reasonable time is impossible or impracticable.
• The applicant came into contact with the blood or other bodily substance of the source individual in one of the following circumstances:
  • While providing emergency health services,
  • While performing his or her duties as a fire fighter, emergency medical assistant, police officer or peace officer,
  • When the individual has reason to believe that they have been the victim of an alleged offence under the Criminal Code (Canada) and has reported the matter to a law enforcement agency.
• There are reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant may have been exposed, as a result of the contact, to a pathogen (virus) that causes Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV.
• An analysis of the applicant’s blood or other bodily fluids would not determine, on time, whether the applicant has been infected.
• Taking a sample of blood or other bodily fluid from the source individual would not endanger the source individual’s life or health.
• The information to be obtained under the Testing Order cannot reasonably be obtained in any other manner.
• The Testing Order is necessary to decrease or eliminate the risk of the applicant's health due to the contact.

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When the source individual named in the Testing Order comes to the identified health facility for testing, the health facility must ensure that a blood sample is taken.

The health facility must then deliver the sample to the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control to have the sample analyzed for the diseases specified in the Testing Order. The health facility must provide a copy of the following with the sample:

• The Testing Order, and
• The information sheet called “Information Accompanying Testing Order”.

The health facility must not use the sample in any manner, or for any purpose, other than the manner and purpose specified in the Testing Order.

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The qualified BC Centre for Disease Control analyst who receives the source individual’s blood sample from a health facility conducts an analysis of the sample for the pathogens that cause the diseases specified in the Testing Order.

When the analysis is complete, the qualified analyst must promptly:

• Provide a written report of the results to the applicant’s (exposed individual) physician.
• Provide the written report of the results to the source individual’s physician. If the source individual’s physician is unknown, the written report must be provided to the source individual.
• Provide a copy of the Testing Order and “Information Accompanying Testing Order” along with the written report.

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The qualified analyst must ensure that:

• The sample is not used for any purpose other than the analysis required under the Testing Order,
• The sample is not released or accessible to anyone other than a person who is carrying out the analysis required by the Testing Order on behalf of the qualified analyst, and
• The results of the analysis are not disclosed except by the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act or the Public Health Act.

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The prohibition against disclosing information that is confidential under the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act does not apply in the following circumstances:

• In the course of administering the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act or of carrying out a duty imposed or exercising a power given under the Act,
• As required by law,
• With the consent of the person the information is about,
• In the course of a consultation between qualified health professionals, or
• In the case of information about a person who is a minor or represented adult, to a guardian of that person.

In addition, the test results from a Testing Order may be disclosed in the following situations:

• To the Workers’ Compensation Board (WorkSafeBC) for the purposes of section 6.2 of the Workers Compensation Act, as long as the disclosure does not include information that would identify the source individual who was tested. Refer to the section on Workers' Compensation Claims.
• For entry into the Provincial Laboratory Information Solution Repository established as a health information bank under the E-Health (Personal Health Information Access and Protection of Privacy) Act.

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The Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act requires that the following notifications and documents must be personally served on another person.

• An exposed individual who intends to apply for a Testing Order must serve a completed Notice of Intention on the source individual at least 3 days before applying for the Testing Order.
• An applicant must serve the completed Application to Obtain a Testing Order Form, including the completed Physician’s Report, on the source individual at least 4 days before the court hears the application.
• If the court grants a Testing Order, the applicant must serve the following documents on both the source individual and the health facility identified in the Testing Order:
  • The Testing Order
  • The “Information Accompanying Testing Order” document

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The Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act only permits personal service as the method for serving documents and notifications on another person.

To serve a document personally:

• You or someone acting on your behalf will simply hand the document to the intended recipient. If the person refuses to take it, you can drop it on the floor at their feet.
• If the recipient is a medical laboratory or other health facility, you can leave the document with a receptionist or with the person who seems to be in charge.
• If the person to be served is under the age of 19, you should instead personally serve the document on the guardian of that person.

Keep a copy of any documents you serve on another individual.

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Yes. The following are important deadlines that must be adhered to under the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act:

• You cannot submit an application to Obtain a Testing Order until at least 3 days have passed since the date that you served the Notice of Intention.
• You must submit the Application to Obtain a Testing Order within 30 days of the date that you came into contact with the blood or other bodily substance of the source individual.
• You must personally serve the Application to Obtain a Testing Order and completed Physician’s Report on the source individual after the Provincial Court registry office has entered the date, time and location of the court hearing on the Application, and at least 4 days before the scheduled date for the court hearing.

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If a worker has contracted Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV, section 6.2 of the Workers Compensation Act provides a presumption that the disease is due to the nature of the worker’s employment, unless there is evidence to the contrary, if all of the following conditions are met:

• The worker came into contact with the blood or other bodily substance of the source individual in the course of the worker’s employment.
• The worker obtained a Testing Order respecting the source individual under the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act.
• The test results from the Testing Order indicate that the source individual is infected with the virus that causes the disease that the worker contracted.

The presumption assists workers covered by the Emergency Intervention Disclosure Act to qualify for worker’s compensation benefits without having to provide additional medical or other evidence regarding their situation.

Test results from a Testing Order may be disclosed to the Workers’ Compensation Board (WorkSafeBC) for the purposes of this presumption, as long as the disclosure does not include information that would identify the source individual who was tested.

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