Federal Register Notice
1/02/98
(63 FR 80)

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics: Meeting

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Department of Health and Human Services announces the following advisory committee meeting.

Name: National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), Subcommittee on Privacy and Confidentiality.

Times and Dates: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., January 28, 1998; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., January 29, 1998.

Place: Room 303A, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201.

Status: Open.

Purpose The Subcommittee will conduct two workshops designed to gather information, stimulate dialogue, and identify issues on the topics of identifiability of data (January 28) and the use of registries (January 29). The context for the discussions will be the data needs of the health care system, the privacy of individuals, the Secretary's legislative recommendations on the confidentiality of individually-identifiable health information, and the current legislative efforts on health privacy.

On the first day the Subcommittee is interested in looking at how personal health information might be collected, stored, maintained, and disclosed for research, health care, quality assurance, cost containment, law enforcement, and other purposes so that individual identities might be protected. The goal is to look for ways to support important functions that rely on personal health information without unduly impinging on the privacy interests of individuals.

On the second day the Subcommittee is interested in exploring the purposes and function of health and medical registries in the U.S. and the extent to which they may pose or lessen threats to the privacy and confidentiality of individuals whose data is included in the registry. The goal is to identify the range or current activities that might qualify as registries and to put more information on the public record about the manner in which registries collect, maintain, and disclose personal health information. Workshop participants are expected to include a variety of invited public and private sector representatives whose expertise can contribute to addressing the workshop topics.

Contact Person for More Information: Substantive program information as well as a roster of committee members may be obtained from Judith Galloway, Division of Data Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, DHHS, Room 440-D, Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, telephone (202) 690-7100, or Marjorie S. Greenberg, Executive Secretary, NCVHS, NCHS, CDC, Room 1100, Presidential Building, 6525 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, telephone 301/436-7050. Additional information about the full Committee is available on the NCVHS website, where the tentative agenda for the Subcommittee meeting will also be posted when available: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/ncvhs.

Dated: December 24, 1997.

James Scanlon, Director, Division of Data Policy.

[FR Doc. 97-34191 Filed 12-31-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4151-04-M