Citation

Drociuk D, Gibson J, Hodge J. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 2004; 53(Suppl 1): 221-225.

Affiliation

South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, 1751 Calhoun Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201, USA. drociukd@dhec.sc.gov

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, (in public domain), Publisher U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15717396

Abstract

The development of syndromic surveillance systems to detect potential terrorist-related outbreaks has the potential to be a useful public health surveillance activity. However, the perception of how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule applies to the disclosure of certain public health information might affect the ability of state and local health departments to implement syndromic surveillance systems within their jurisdictions. To assess this effect, a multiple-question survey asked respondents to share their experiences regarding patient confidentiality and HIPAA Privacy Rule requirements when implementing syndromic surveillance systems. This assessment summarizes the results of a national survey of state terrorism-preparedness coordinators and state epidemiologists and reflects the authors' and others' experiences with implementation.

Language: en