CHAPTER 126-A DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Controlled Drug Prescription Health and Safety Program
Section 126-A:92
126-A:92 Confidentiality. –
I. Information contained in the program, information obtained from it, and information contained in the records of requests for information from the program, is confidential, is not a public record or otherwise subject to disclosure under RSA 91-A, and is not subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for release and shall not be shared with an agency or institution, except as provided in this subdivision. This paragraph shall not prevent a practitioner from using or disclosing program information about a patient to others who are authorized by state or federal law or regulations to receive program information.
II. The department shall establish and maintain procedures to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of patients and patient information.
II-a. A practitioner who intends to request and use information from the program about a patient shall post a sign that can be easily viewed by the public that discloses to the public that the practitioner may access and use information contained in the program. In lieu of posting a sign, the practitioner may provide such notice in written material provided to the patient.
III. The department may use and release information and reports from the program for program analysis and evaluation, statistical analysis, public research, public policy, and educational purposes, provided that the data are aggregated or otherwise de-identified at all levels of use. The department shall not acquire, use or release information from the program for these purposes unless all patient-specific protected health information has been de-identified in accordance with section 164.514(b)(2) of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, except that the department may use or release county-level data, provided that such data are de-identified and aggregated at all levels of use, and provided that no such county shall have a population of fewer than 20,000 residents as defined by the most recent census data.
Source. 2021, 91:45, eff. July 1, 2021; 148:8, eff. July 1, 2021. 2023, 140:2, eff. Aug. 29, 2023.