Illinois Statutes Chapter 20. Executive Branch § 2310/2310-335. Alzheimer's disease; exchange of information; autopsies

(a) The Department shall establish policies, procedures, standards, and criteria for the collection, maintenance, and exchange of confidential personal and medical information necessary for the identification and evaluation of victims of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders and for the conduct of consultation, referral, and treatment through personal physicians, primary Alzheimer's centers, and regional Alzheimer's assistance centers provided for in the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Act.  1 These requirements shall include procedures for obtaining the necessary consent of a patient or guardian to the disclosure and exchange of that information among providers of services within an Alzheimer's disease assistance network and for the maintenance of the information in a centralized medical information system administered by a regional Alzheimer's center. Nothing in this Section requires disclosure or exchange of information pertaining to confidential communications between patients and therapists or disclosure or exchange of information contained within a therapist's personal notes.

(b) Any person identified as a victim of Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder under the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Act shall be provided information regarding the critical role that autopsies play in the diagnosis and in the conduct of research into the cause and cure of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The person, or the spouse or guardian of the person, shall be encouraged to consent to an autopsy upon the person's death.

The Department shall provide information to medical examiners and coroners in this State regarding the importance of autopsies in the diagnosis and in the conduct of research into the causes and cure of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The Department shall also arrange for education and training programs that will enable medical examiners and coroners to conduct autopsies necessary for a proper diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or related disorders as the cause or a contributing factor to a death.