N.Y. Public Health Law § 2 – Definitions

1. Whenever used in this chapter, unless otherwise expressly stated or unless the context or subject matter requires a different meaning, the following terms shall have the respective meanings hereinafter set forth or indicated:
1. (a) Department. The term "department" means department of health of the state of New York.
2. (b) Commissioner. The term "commissioner" means commissioner of health of the state of New York.
3. (c) Health district. The term "health district" means a county health district, part-county health district, city, town, village or consolidated health district having a separate board of health.
4. (d) County health district. The term "county health district" means a health district comprising the entire county heretofore or hereafter established.
5. (e) Part-county health district. The term "part-county health district" means all that part of a county outside of a city or cities having a population of fifty thousand or more heretofore or hereafter established as a health district.
6. (f) County department of health. The term "county department of health" means that division of the county government having jurisdiction over the public health of a county or part-county health district.
7. (g) County health commissioner. The term "county health commissioner" means the executive officer of a county department of health.
8. (h) Local board of health. The term "local board of health" means the board of health of a county, part-county, city, village, town or consolidated health district.
9. (i) Municipality. The term "municipality" means a city, village, town or consolidated health district.
10. (j) Local health officer. The term "local health officer" means the health officer of a county, part-county, city, village, town or a consolidated health district.
11. (k) Sanitary code. The term "sanitary code" means sanitary code of the state of New York.
12. (l) Communicable disease. The term "communicable disease" means infectious, contagious or communicable disease.
13. (m) State institution in the department. The term "state institution in the department" means any state hospital or institution subject to the jurisdiction, supervision and control of the state department of health, and such other state hospitals and institutions as may hereafter be made subject to the jurisdiction, supervision and control of the state department of health.
14. (n) Sexually transmissible disease. The term "sexually transmissible disease" shall mean a disease that appears on the list of diseases promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to section twenty-three hundred eleven of this chapter. * (o) Distant site. The term "distant site" means a site at which a health care provider is located while providing health care services by means of telemedicine or telehealth; unless the term is otherwise defined with respect to the provision in which it is used. * NB Effective and Repealed January 1, 2016 * (p) Health care provider. The term "health care provider" means a person licensed pursuant to article one hundred thirty-one, one hundred thirty-one-B, one hundred thirty-three, one hundred thirty-nine, one hundred forty, one hundred forty-one, one hundred forty-three, one hundred forty-four, one hundred fifty-three, one hundred fifty-four or one hundred fifty-nine of the education law, acting within his or her scope of practice, including any lawful practice entity of such health care practitioners; a hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of this chapter; home care services agency as defined in article thirty-six of this chapter; or a hospice as defined in article forty of this chapter; unless the term is otherwise defined by law with respect to the provision in which it is used. * NB Effective and Repealed January 1, 2016 * (q) Originating site. The term "originating site" means a site at which a patient is located at the time health care services are provided to him or her by means of telemedicine or telehealth, unless the term is otherwise defined with respect to the provision in which it is used. Provided, however, notwithstanding any other provision of law, insurers and providers may agree to alternative siting arrangements deemed appropriated by the parties. * NB Effective and Repealed January 1, 2016 * (r) Telehealth. The term "telehealth" means delivering health care services by means of information and communications technologies consisting of telephones, remote patient monitoring devices or other electronic means which facilitate the assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management and self management of a patient's health care while such patient is at the originating site and the health care provider is at a distant site; consistent with applicable federal law and regulations; unless the term is otherwise defined by law with respect to the provision in which it is used. * NB Effective and Repealed January 1, 2016 * (s) Telemedicine. The term "telemedicine" means the delivery of clinical health care services by means of real time two-way electronic audio visual communications, including the application of secure video conferencing or store and forward technology to provide or support healthcare delivery, which facilitate the assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management and self management of a patient's health care while such patient is at the originating site and the health care provider is at a distant site; consistent with applicable federal law and regulations; unless the term is otherwise defined by law with respect to the provision in which it is used. * NB Effective and Repealed January 1, 2016
2. Whenever the term "state board of health" occurs or any reference is made thereto, in any law, it shall be deemed to mean or refer to the department as described in this article.
3. Whenever the term "public health council" or "state hospital review and planning council" occurs, or any reference is made thereto, in any law, it shall be deemed to mean or refer to the public health and health planning council as described in article two of this chapter.