Revision: May 31, 2018, 4:18 p.m.
CHAPTER 144
SB 482-FN - FINAL VERSION
04/26/2018 1801EBA
2018 SESSION
18-2788
01/10
SENATE BILL 482-FN
AN ACT relative to confidential emergency medical and trauma services data.
SPONSORS: Sen. Hennessey, Dist 5; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Rep. White, Graf. 13; Rep. Danielson, Hills. 7
COMMITTEE: Health and Human Services
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a privacy committee to review and approve requests for the use of emergency medical and trauma services records data for research purposes.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04/26/2018 1801EBA 18-2788
01/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen
AN ACT relative to confidential emergency medical and trauma services data.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
144:1 Department of Safety; Bureau of Emergency Medical Services. Amend RSA 21-P:12-b, II(g) to read as follows:
(g) Establish a data collection and analysis capability that provides for the evaluation of the emergency medical and trauma services system and for modifications to the system based on identified gaps and shortfalls in the delivery of emergency medical and trauma services. The data and resulting analysis shall be provided to the bodies established under this chapter, provided that such use does not violate the confidentiality of recipients of emergency medical care. The provisions of RSA [126] 153-A:35 shall be followed with regard to other uses of this data for research and evaluation purposes, and for protecting the confidentiality of data in those uses. All analyses shall be public documents, provided that the identity of the recipients of emergency medical care are protected from disclosure either directly or indirectly.
144:2 New Section; Protected Health Information; Privacy Committee. Amend RSA 153-A by inserting after section 34 the following new section:
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 institutions and individuals outside of the department who demonstrate a need for such information for the purpose of conducting health-related research. 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 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.
144:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: May 30, 2018
Effective Date: July 29, 2018