(a) In general

The Secretary may, in consultation with State, local, and Tribal public health officials, carry out activities to improve the availability of appropriate and applicable public health data related to communicable diseases, and information sharing between, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and such State, local, and Tribal public health officials, which may include such data from—

(1) health care providers and facilities;

(2) public health and clinical laboratories;

(3) health information exchanges and health information networks; and

(4) State, local, and Tribal health departments.

(b) Content, form, and manner

Terms Used In 42 USC 242u

  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. See 42 USC 201
  • State: includes , in addition to the several States, only the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. See 42 USC 201

The Secretary shall, consistent with the requirements of this section, work with such officials and relevant stakeholders to provide information on the content, form, and manner in which such data, deidentified as applicable, may most effectively support the ability of State, local, and Tribal health departments to respond to such communicable diseases, including related to the collection and reporting of demographic and other relevant data elements. Such form and manner requirements shall align with the standards and implementation specifications adopted by the Secretary under section 300jj-14 of this title, as applicable.

(c) Decreased burden

In facilitating the coordination of efforts under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make reasonable efforts to limit reported public health data to the minimum necessary information needed to accomplish the intended public health purpose.

(d) Exemption of certain public health data from disclosure

The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may exempt from disclosure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5 public health data that are gathered under this section if—

(1) an individual is identified through such data; or

(2) there is at least a very small risk, as determined by current scientific practices or statistical methods, that some combination of the information, the request, and other available data sources or the application of technology could be used to deduce the identity of an individual.

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