SB285 Alabama 2020 Session

Under existing law, the Department of Public Health licenses and regulates certain health care facilities. The department also accumulates and disseminates statistical health information on births, deaths, and cancer cases in this state

Existing law does not provide for the comprehensive statewide collection of hospital discharge data by the department

This bill would provide for the statewide reporting and collection of hospital discharge data by the Department of Public Health. The department would be required to adopt rules for the protection, collection, and dissemination of the hospital discharge data and would be authorized to release limited data sets which are compliant with federal and state law. The bill would also establish a council to advise the department on rules necessary to carry out the act and provide for confidentiality and privilege protection for patient information provided pursuant to the act

Relating to the Department of Public Health; to provide for the mandatory reporting and collection of hospital discharge data; to designate the Department of Public Health as the state agency to collect, compile, and analyze hospital discharge data; to provide for the availability of hospital discharge data from the department; to authorize the department to adopt rules to implement this act; to establish the Hospital Discharge Data Advisory Council to advise the department on the adoption of rules; to provide for civil penalties; to require the submission of inpatient and outpatient discharge data by hospitals, which data will be protected from public disclosure; to authorize the department to release to the public limited data sets compliant with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 that have been processed and verified according to rules as adopted pursuant to this act; and to provide confidentiality and privilege protections for patient identifying information submitted in compliance with this act.