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Privacy and Confidentiality of Public Health Information

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Public Health Informatics and Information Systems

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

Abstract

Health information is created in many different healthcare contexts and is used, released, and exchanged for many different purposes. Each use, release, and exchange of health information is governed by laws, including both statutes and regulations at the federal, state, tribal, local, and territorial levels. Health and public health data have a life cycle that extends from creation to destruction, and the privacy and confidentiality laws that govern the data change as they move through their life cycles. The federal government has promulgated a variety of statutes and regulations that protect health information created and held in a clinical healthcare setting, dictate what a particular actor may do with health information, and create privacy and confidentiality requirements for health information about a particular disease or condition. Many states, territories, and localities have laws requiring healthcare providers and facilities to maintain confidentiality of health information collected from individuals seeking care for physical, mental, or behavioral health. Additional protections are afforded to “sensitive” health information, such as behavioral health information or sexually transmitted disease diagnoses. Many federal and state privacy and confidentiality laws provide exceptions for public health activities and other actions taken under the umbrella of health department authority; however, jurisdictions may also require that a public health agency maintain privacy and confidentiality of any health information collected for such activities. In addition to legal privacy and confidentiality requirements, ensuring the ethical use of data is also an issue of paramount importance in public health.

This chapter was co-authored by researchers in the Public Health Law Program (PHLP) in the Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The findings and conclusions in this chapter are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. For further information, please contact PHLP at phlawprogram@cdc.gov.

The authors thank Brianne Yassine, MPH, CHES, Cherokee Nation Assurance contractor for the CDC Public Health Law Program for her assistance with adult education principles and graphic design for the Health Data Life Cycle.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cherokee Nation Assurance, Public Health Law Program, Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Rachel Hulkower

  2. Public Health Law Program, Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Matthew Penn

  3. Department of Health Policy and Management, Texas A&M University School of Public Health, College Station, TX, USA

    Cason Schmit

Authors
  1. Rachel Hulkower
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  2. Matthew Penn
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  3. Cason Schmit
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rachel Hulkower .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    J.A. Magnuson

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Indiana University, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Brian E. Dixon

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© 2020 This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply

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Hulkower, R., Penn, M., Schmit, C. (2020). Privacy and Confidentiality of Public Health Information. In: Magnuson, J., Dixon, B. (eds) Public Health Informatics and Information Systems . Health Informatics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41215-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41215-9_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-41214-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-41215-9

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