[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 2, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81-82]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-32198]


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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.
    Time and Dates: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. January 24, 2002,
9 a.m.-1 p.m. January 25, 2002.
    Place: Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 705A, 200 Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20201.
    Status: Open.
    Background: The National Committee on Vital and Health 
Statistics is the statutory public advisory body to the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services in the area of health data, statistics, 
and health information policy. It is established by section 306(k) 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242k(k)), and its 
mandate includes advising the Secretary on the

[[Page 82]]

implementation of the Administrative Simplification provisions 
(Social Security Act, title XI, part C, 42 U.S.C. 1320d to 1320d-8) 
of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 
(HIPAA), Pub. L. No. 104-191.
    Its Subcommittee on Privacy and Confidentiality monitors 
developments in health information privacy and confidentiality on 
behalf of the full Committee and makes recommendations to the full 
Committee so that it can advise the Secretary on implementation of 
the health information privacy provisions of HIPAA.
    Purpose: This meeting of the Subcommittee on Privacy and 
Confidentiality will receive information on the implementation of 
the regulation ``Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable 
Health Information'' (45 CFR parts 160 and 164), promulgated under 
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
    The regulation and further information about it can be found on 
the Web site of the Office for Civil Rights, at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/. The regulation has been in effect since April 14, 2001. 
Most entities covered by the regulation must come into compliance by 
April 14, 2003, and many are beginning the process of implementing 
it.
    The first day of the meeting will be conducted as a hearing, in 
which the Subcommittee will gather detailed information about 
implementation of the regulation's provisions for use and disclosure 
of health information for marketing and fundraising. The 
Subcommittee will invite specific representatives of affected 
groups, in order to obtain information about practical issues in 
implementation of the regulation with respect to these uses and 
disclosures of information, and to obtain suggestions about possible 
solutions for such issues.
    The format will include one or more invited panels on these 
issues and time for questions and discussion. The Subcommittee will 
ask the invited witnesses for focused, detailed analyses and 
description, with examples, of the effect the regulation is expected 
to have, on individuals and on entities subject to the regulation, 
with respect to these matters, based on early implementation efforts 
and preliminary assessments of impact.
    The second day of the meeting will consist of Subcommittee 
discussion of the testimony it has heard and deliberations about 
possible recommendations to the Secretary.
    In addition to the panels that will be invited to address these 
issues, members of the public who would like to make a brief (3 
minutes or less) oral comment on one or more of the specified issues 
during the hearing will be placed on the agenda as time permits. To 
be included on the agenda, please contact Marietta Squire (301) 458-
4524, by E-mail at [email protected], or postal address at NCHS, 
Presidential Building, Room 1100, 6525 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, 
Maryland 20782 by January 17, 2002.
    Persons wishing to submit written testimony only (which should 
not exceed five double-spaced typewritten pages) should endeavor to 
submit it by that date. Unfilled slots for oral testimony will also 
be filled on the day of the meeting as time permits. Please consult 
Ms. Squire for further information about these arrangements.
    Additional information about the hearing will be provided on the 
NCVHS Web site at http://www.ncvhs.hhs.gov shorthy before the 
hearing date.
    Contact Person for More Information: Information about the 
content of the hearing and matters to be considered may be obtained 
from John P. Fanning, Lead Staff Persons for the NCVHS Subcommittee 
on Privacy and Confidentiality, Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, 440D Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington DC 20201, telephone (202) 690-5896, E-mail 
[email protected]. or from Marjorie S. Greenberg, Executive 
Secretary, NCVHS, NCHS, CDC, Room 1100, Presidential Building, 6525 
Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, telephone (301) 458-
4245. Information about the committee, including summaries of past 
meetings and a roster of committee members, is available on the 
Committee's Web site at http://www.ncvhs.hhs.gov.

    Dated: December 20, 2001.
James Scanlon,
Director, Division of Data Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for, Planning and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 01-32198 Filed 12-31-01; 8:45 am]
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