All records of interviews, written reports, and statements procured by the department or by any other person, agency, or organization acting jointly with the department, in connection with special morbidity and mortality studies shall be confidential insofar as the identity of the individual patient is concerned and shall be used solely for the purposes of the study. The furnishing of this information to the department or its authorized representative, or to any other co-operating individual, agency or organization in any special study, shall not subject any person, hospital, sanitarium, rest home, nursing home, or other organization furnishing this information to any action for damages. This section shall not apply to general morbidity and mortality studies customarily and continuously conducted by the department that do not involve patient identification.

Nothing in this section shall prohibit the publishing by the department of statistical compilations relating to morbidity and mortality studies that do not identify individual cases and sources of information or religious affiliations.