153-A:35 Protected Health Information; Privacy Committee Established. –
I. All protected health information possessed by the department shall be considered confidential, except that the commissioner, or designee, may provide emergency medical and trauma services record information to any person or entity outside of the department who demonstrate a need for such information for the purpose of conducting health-related research or analysis and other uses for evaluation not provided for under RSA 21-P:12-b, II(g). Any such release shall be conditioned upon the understanding that once the health-related research is complete that all information provided shall be returned to the department or be destroyed and no copies shall be kept. All releases of information shall be consistent with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191 (HIPAA) and regulations promulgated thereunder by the United States Department of Health and Human Services 45 C.F.R. part 160 and part 164. This shall include the requirement that all proposed releases of emergency medical and trauma services records information to institutions and individuals outside the department for the purposes of health-related research be reviewed and approved by the privacy committee, established in paragraph II, and the commissioner, under this section before the requested information is released.
II. There is hereby established a privacy committee which shall review and approve requests for the use of emergency medical and trauma services records data for the purposes of research or analyses and other uses for evaluation not provided for under RSA 21-P:12-b, II(g). The privacy committee shall consist of 7 members who shall include the director, or designee, 4 members of the emergency medical and trauma services coordinating board, appointed by the chair of the board, and 2 persons who are not affiliated with the department and who are not part of the immediate family of a person who is affiliated with the department, appointed by the commissioner.
III. The committee shall review and approve requests for the use of emergency medical and trauma services records data for the purposes of research and other uses for evaluation not provided under RSA 21-P:12-b, II(g). Emergency medical and trauma services records data or copies of such records that directly or indirectly identify individuals shall be made available for health-related research purposes upon receipt and approval of a written application to the committee. No emergency medical and trauma services records shall be released until the request has been reviewed and approved by the privacy committee and authorized by the commissioner, or designee.
IV. The committee may consult with any person or entity the committee deems relevant to the work of the committee. Such individuals may only offer advice and guidance and shall not participate in the decision as to whether to approve the release of any records under this section for the purposes of health-related research.