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Privacy Toolkit for Public Health Professionals Introduction | Key Definitions and Resources
A great deal of confusion still exists around the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA) privacy impact on public sector entities and its intersection with state and other federal laws. Public sector health care services are very heterogeneous and often perform multiple functions, which may cross program boundaries or be shared with other departments, agencies, and external partners. In many cases, public sector health program processes do not fit well with many of the regulatory provisions. While there is recognition in the HIPAA rules that public programs play different roles, the rules do not address the real life complexity of public sector solutions to providing access and services. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) produced a series of guidance documents for the Privacy Rule to aid compliance, but little has been released to date that directly addresses public sector concerns. In general, HIPAA privacy regulations recognize current business practices and preserve a government entity’s ability to use and disclose the information. Use or disclosure for most activities is permitted and can still continue, including for public health, public benefit programs, and oversight activities. However, the complexity of the rule and the imperfect fit of the rule requirements with public sector health activities have greatly hindered understanding, application, and compliance. This tool is to provide some direction for government entities in applying privacy regulations to their programs and functions and in complying with all state and federal privacy requirements.
The
The tool is organized according to the three common roles and functions of state and local public health and other government health entities that often require use or disclosure of health information: public health authority, health care provider, and as a payer of health services.
The PRISM tool describes the baseline privacy requirements for government health sector uses and disclosures using HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) as a foundation and takes into consideration:
Key Definitions & Resources Click here to view key definitions and terms related to the disclosure of privacy information. Click here to view additional resources related to the disclosure of privacy information.
The contents of this Tool and
associated documents are intended for educational purposes only
and do not constitute legal advice. Though PHDSC believes
reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the
information contained in this Tool, it may include inaccuracies
or typographical errors and may be changed or updated without
notice. |
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Privacy Tool is an electronic tool to provide state
and local government health programs, and public health
departments and programs in particular, with a convenient and
useful way to understand the basic legal privacy requirements
for identifiable health information use and disclosure. The tool
identifies and defines the baseline conditions and requirements
that a public health or other government health entity must
follow when using and disclosing specific types of health
information. The tool consists of a series of tables that
outline different types and/or purposes of information use and
disclosure and the general legal requirements relevant to each
type of use or disclosure.
Click here to review the PHDSC's Legal and Privacy Statement |
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