10-144 C.M.R. ch. 253, § 2 - INTRODUCTION

In accordance with 22 MRSA Section1692-B, the Department of Human Services must be given access to all confidential reports and records filed by physicians, hospitals or other private or public sector organizations, and with all departments, agencies, commissions or boards of the State for the purpose of conducting investigations or evaluating the completeness or quality of data submitted to the Department's disease surveillance programs. The Department shall follow the data confidentiality requirements of the departments, agencies, commissions or boards of the State providing this information to the extent those requirements are consistent with 22 MRSA Section1692-B.

Upon notification by the Department of Human Services, physicians or hospitals shall provide to the Department any further information requested for the purpose of conducting investigations or evaluating the completeness or quality of data submitted to the Department's disease surveillance programs.

The Maine State Department of Human Services maintains several chronic disease surveillance programs which monitor selected chronic disease rates throughout the state.

The general objectives of these programs include:

Surveillance of specific chronic diseases which may have environmental/ occupational etiologies.

Determination of frequencies and rates of these diseases on a community level with evaluation and analysis of this data and applicable comparisons with state and national data.

Evaluation of factors/etiologies which may effect incidence, prevalence or survivorship of these diseases.

Conducting follow-up investigations, when warranted, in areas where real, verified disease incidence is remarkable, i.e., a potential spatial/temporal disease cluster where investigation may yield fruitful results and lead to the initiation of preventive measures, public health interventions, and/or screening of the population-at-risk to identify undiagnosed cases and assist with the implementation of the intervention efforts.

The Department shall not seek information under these rules if the proposed identification of or contact with patients or health care practitioners would diminish the confidentiality of medical information or the public's confidence in the protection of that information in a manner that outweighs the expected benefit to the public of the proposed investigation. The Department shall not seek identifying information under these rules without an advisory body approved protocol.

Notes

10-144 C.M.R. ch. 253, § 2