§ 90-21.93.  Reporting requirements.

(a) Report. - After a surgical or medical abortion is performed, the physician or health care provider that conducted the surgical or medical abortion shall complete and transmit a report to the Department in compliance with the requirements of this section. The report shall be completed by either the hospital, clinic, or health care provider in which the surgical or medical abortion was completed and signed by the physician who dispensed, administered, prescribed, or otherwise provided the abortion-inducing drug or performed the procedure or treatment to the woman. Any physician or health care provider shall make reasonable efforts to include all of the required information in this section in the report without violating the privacy of the woman. The report shall be transmitted to the Department within 15 days after either the (i) date of the follow-up appointment following a medical abortion, (ii) date of the last patient encounter for treatment directly related to a surgical abortion, or (iii) end of the month in which the last scheduled appointment occurred, whichever is later. A report completed under this section for a minor shall be sent to the Department and the Division of Social Services within 30 days of the surgical or medical abortion.

(b) Contents. - Each report completed in accordance with this section shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) Identifying information of the (i) physician who provided the abortion-inducing drug or performed the surgical abortion and (ii) referring physician, agency, or service, if applicable.

(2) The location, date, and type of the surgical abortion, or the location of where any abortion-inducing drug was administered or dispensed, including any health care provider facility, at the home of the pregnant woman, or other location.

(3) The woman's county, state, and country of residence; age; and race.

(4) The woman's number of live births, previous pregnancies, and number of previous abortions.

(5) The woman's preexisting medical conditions, which could complicate her pregnancy.

(6) The probable gestational age of the unborn child, as determined by both patient history and ultrasound, and the date of the ultrasound used to estimate gestational age.

(7) The abortion-inducing drugs used, and the date in which the abortion-inducing drugs were dispensed, administered, and used.

(8) Whether the woman returned for the scheduled follow-up appointment or examination to determine the completion of the abortion procedure and to assess bleeding, the results of the follow-up appointment or examination, and the date of any follow-up appointment or examination of the abortion procedure.

(9) The reasonable efforts of the physician to encourage the woman to attend the follow-up appointment or examination if the woman did not attend.

(10) Any specific complications the woman suffered from the abortion procedure.

(11) The amount of money billed to cover the treatment for specific complications, including whether the treatment was billed to Medicaid, private insurance, private pay, or any other method, including ICD-10 diagnosis codes reported, any other codes reported, any charges for hospitals, emergency departments, physicians, prescriptions or other drugs, laboratory tests, and any other costs for treatment.

(c) Adverse Event from Abortion-Inducing Drug Report. - If a woman has an adverse event related to the administration, dispensing, or prescription of an abortion-inducing drug for the purpose of inducing an abortion, the physician who provided the abortion-inducing drug or the physician who diagnosed or treated the woman for the adverse event shall provide a written report of the adverse event within three days of the adverse event to the Food and Drug Administration through the MedWatch Reporting System and to the Department.

(d) Adverse Event or Complication from Abortion Procedure Report. - If a woman has an adverse event or complication related to a surgical abortion or abortion procedure, the physician or health care provider who performed the surgical abortion or abortion procedure or the physician who diagnosed or treated the woman for the adverse event or complication shall make a report of the adverse event or complication, including the diagnosis or treatment that was provided. A report under this subsection shall be transmitted to the Department within 15 days of the end of the month that the adverse event or complication occurred.

(e) Additional Report Contents. - In addition to the information in subsection (b) of this section, a report made under subsection (c) or (d) of this section shall contain all of the following information:

(1) The date the woman presented for treatment of the adverse event or complication.

(2) The specific complication that led to the treatment, including any physical or psychological conditions, which, in the reasonable medical judgment of a physician or health care provider, arose as a primary or secondary result of an induced abortion.

(3) Whether the woman obtained abortion-inducing drugs as a mail order or from an internet website, and, if so, information identifying the name of the source, website or URL address, and telemedicine provider.

(f) Departmental Reports. - The Department shall prepare a comprehensive annual statistical report based upon the data gathered from reports under this Article. The report shall be made available to the public in a downloadable format. On or before October 1, 2023, and each October 1 thereafter, the Department shall submit the report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services. The Department shall also submit data and the annual report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for inclusion in the annual Vital Statistics Report. Original copies of reports shall be made available to the North Carolina Medical Board, the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy, State law enforcement offices, and the Division of Social Services for official use.

(g) Identifying Information. - A report completed under this section shall not contain the woman's name, any common identifiers of the woman, or any other information that would make it possible to identify the woman subject to a report under this section, including the woman's social security number or drivers license identification number. The Department and any State agency or any contractor thereof shall not maintain statistical information that may reveal the identity of a woman obtaining or seeking to obtain a surgical or medical abortion. Absent a court order, the Department and any State agency or any contractor thereof shall not compare data concerning surgical or medical abortions or resulting complications maintained in an electronic or other information system file or format with data in any other format or information system in an effort to identify a woman obtaining or seeking to obtain a drug-induced abortion.

(h) Communication of Information. - The Department shall communicate the reporting requirements of this Article to all medical professional organizations, licensed physicians, hospitals, emergency departments, clinics certified to perform abortion services under this Article, other clinics and facilities that provide health care services, and any other health care facility in this State. (2023-14, s. 1.2; 2023-65, s. 14.1(j).)