[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 208 (Thursday, October 28, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62938-62940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24079]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

ACTION: Notice of amendment to system of records.

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SUMMARY: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a(e) (4)) requires that 
all agencies publish in the Federal Register a notice of the existence 
and character of their systems of records. Notice is hereby given that 
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending the system of 
records entitled ``Blood Donor Information--VA'' (04VA115) as set forth 
in the Federal Register, 40 FR 38095, and last amended in the Federal 
Register, 66 FR 20860 (Apr. 25, 2001). VA is amending the system by 
revising the Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, 
including Categories of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses. VA is 
republishing the system notice in its entirety.

DATES: Comments on the amendment of this system of records must be 
received no later than November 29, 2004. If no public comment is 
received, the amended system will become effective November 29, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning the proposed amended system of 
records may be submitted by: mail or hand-delivery to Director, 
Regulations Management (00REG1), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Avenue, NW., Room 1068, Washington, DC 20420; fax to (202) 273-
9026; or e-mail to [email protected]. All comments received 
will be available for public inspection in the Office of Regulation 
Policy and Management, Room 1063B, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday (except holidays). Please call (202) 273-
9515 for an appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) 
Privacy Act Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, telephone (727) 320-1839.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose for the system of records is to 
maintain vital blood donor information of individuals who have donated 
blood to a VHA health care facility, blood bank, government or to 
private agencies for blood that is to be issued for patient care under 
routine or emergency conditions. Information such as donor name, social 
security number, date of donation, type of donation, type of components 
produced by the donation, mandated tests results, and disposition of 
the blood or blood component is gathered in order to track the donor 
medical history, donation interval(s), results of donor testing, report 
positive or abnormal test results, and blood or

[[Page 62939]]

blood components from registration through the final disposition of 
blood or blood components produced from the donation.
    A record of the individual to whom the blood or blood component was 
transfused and the medical facility where the product was transfused 
and/or stored is also maintained.
    The Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including 
Categories of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses are amended as 
described below.
    [cir] Routine use number three (3) has been amended in its 
entirety. VA must be able to disclose information within its possession 
on its own initiative that pertains to a violation of law to the 
appropriate authorities in order for them to investigate and enforce 
those laws. VA may disclose the names and home addresses of veterans 
and their dependents only to Federal entities with law enforcement 
responsibilities under 38 U.S.C. 5701(a) and (f). Accordingly, VA has 
so limited this routine use as follows:
    VA may disclose on its own initiative any information in this 
system, except the names and home addresses of veterans and their 
dependents, which is relevant to a suspected or reasonably imminent 
violation of law, whether civil, criminal or regulatory in nature and 
whether arising by general or program statute or by regulation, rule or 
order issued pursuant thereto, to a Federal, State, local, tribal or 
foreign agency charged with the responsibility of investigating or 
prosecuting such violations, or charged with enforcing or implementing 
the statute, regulation, rule or order. On its own initiative, VA may 
also disclose the names and addresses of veterans and their dependents 
to a Federal agency charged with the responsibility of investigating or 
prosecuting civil, criminal or regulatory violations of law, or charged 
with enforcing or implementing the statute, regulation, rule or order 
issued pursuant thereto.
     Former routine use four (4) has been deleted from this 
system of records. Upon review, it has been determined that this 
routine use is no longer applicable to this system and, as such, is no 
longer required.
     Former routine uses five (5) through eight (8) have been 
renumbered as routine uses four (4) through seven (7).
    The Privacy Act permits VA to disclose information about 
individuals without their consent for a routine use when the 
information will be used for a purpose that is compatible with the 
purpose for which we collected the information. In all of the routine 
use disclosures described above, the recipient of the information will 
use the information in connection with a matter relating to one of VA's 
programs or will use the information to provide a benefit to VA, or 
disclosure is required by law or would permit VA to notify appropriate 
entities about conduct of individuals in this system of records.
    Under section 264, subtitle F of title II of the Health Insurance 
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Pub. L. 104-191, 
100 Stat. 1936, 2033-34 (1996), the United States Department of Health 
and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule, as amended, 
establishing Standards for Privacy of Individually-Identifiable Health 
Information, 45 CFR parts 160 and 164. VHA may not disclose 
individually-identifiable health information (as defined in HIPAA, 42 
U.S.C. 1320(d)(6), and Privacy Rule, 45 CFR 164.501) pursuant to a 
routine use unless either: (a) the disclosure is required by law, or 
(b) the disclosure is also permitted or required by the HHS Privacy 
Rule. The disclosures of individually-identifiable health information 
contemplated in the routine uses published in this amended system of 
records notice are permitted under the Privacy Rule. However, to also 
have authority to make such disclosures under the Privacy Act, VA must 
publish these routine uses. Consequently, VA is publishing these 
routine uses and is adding a preliminary paragraph to the routine uses 
portion of the system of records notice stating that any disclosure 
pursuant to the routine uses in this system of records notice must be 
either required by law or permitted by the Privacy Rule before VHA may 
disclose the covered information.
    The Report of Intent to Publish an Amended System of Record Notice 
and an advance copy of the system notice have been sent to the 
appropriate Congressional committees and to the Director of Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) (Privacy 
Act) and guidelines issued by OMB, 61 FR 6428 (Feb. 20, 1996).

    Approved: October 8, 2004.
Anthony J. Principi,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
04VA115

SYSTEM NAME:
    Blood Donor Information--VA.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Blood Donor records are maintained at each of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs (VA) health care facilities. Addresses are listed in 
VA Appendix I of the biennial publication of Privacy Act Issuances.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals who have donated blood to a Veterans Health 
Administration (VHA) health care facility, blood bank, government or 
private agencies to be issued for patient care under routine or 
emergency conditions.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Blood donor records contain sufficient information (i.e., donor 
name, social security number, date of donation, type of donation, type 
of components produced by the donation, mandated tests results, and 
disposition of the blood or blood component) to provide a mechanism to 
track a donated blood product from the time of donor registration 
through the final disposition of each component prepared from that 
donation. VA maintains a record of the individual to whom the blood or 
blood component was transfused and the medical facility where the 
product was transfused and/or stored.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    1. Title 38, United States Code, sections 501(a) and 501(b).
    2. Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, parts 200-299 and parts 
600-680.
    3. Title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, section 493.1107.

PURPOSE(S):
    The information and records are used to track the donor medical 
history, donation interval(s), results of donor testing, report 
positive or abnormal test results, and blood and/or blood components 
produced from the donation.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    VA may disclose protected health information pursuant to the 
following routine uses where required by law, or required or permitted 
by 45 CFR parts 160 and 164.
    1. Disclosure may be made to answer requests for information from 
Federal, State, local, and tribal medical facilities regarding the 
source from which blood was received. Such requests may be initiated by 
a qualified medical practitioner in the event that a donor's or 
patient's medical condition warrants it.
    2. Disclosure may be made of blood availability, location, quantity 
on hand, and blood type for use by the area donor collection 
coordinators to answer and fill requests from health care facilities in 
need of type-specific blood.

[[Page 62940]]

    3. VA may disclose on its own initiative any information in this 
system, except the names and home addresses of veterans and their 
dependents, which is relevant to a suspected or reasonably imminent 
violation of law, whether civil, criminal or regulatory in nature and 
whether arising by general or program statute or by regulation, rule or 
order issued pursuant thereto, to a Federal, State, local, tribal, or 
foreign agency charged with the responsibility of investigating or 
prosecuting such violation, or charged with enforcing or implementing 
the statute, regulation, rule or order. On its own initiative, VA may 
also disclose the names and addresses of veterans and their dependents 
to a Federal agency charged with the responsibility of investigating or 
prosecuting civil, criminal or regulatory violations of law, or charged 
with enforcing or implementing the statute, regulation, rule or order 
issued pursuant thereto.
    4. Disclosure from a system of records maintained by this component 
may be made to a Congressional office from the record of an individual 
in response to an inquiry from the Congressional office made at the 
request of that individual.
    5. A record from a system of records maintained by this component 
may be disclosed as a routine use to the General Services 
Administration for the purpose of records management inspections 
conducted under authority of Title 44 United States Code.
    6. A record from a system of records maintained by this component 
may be disclosed as a routine use to the National Archives and Records 
Administration for the purpose of records management inspections 
conducted under authority of title 44 United States Code.
    7. Disclosure of relevant information may be made to individuals, 
organizations, private or public agencies, etc., with whom VA has a 
contract or agreement to perform such services as VA may deem 
practicable for the purposes of laws administered by VA, in order for 
the contractor or subcontractor to perform the services of the contract 
or agreement.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Paper documents, magnetic tape, disk.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    1. All VA blood donor manual records are indexed by name and social 
security number of donor, cross-indexed by blood type.
    2. Automated records are indexed by name, social security number, 
blood type, antibodies and date of last donation.

SAFEGUARDS:
    1. Access to VA working space and medical record storage areas is 
restricted to VA employees on a ``need to know'' basis. Generally, VA 
file areas are locked after normal duty hours and are protected from 
outside access by the Federal Protective Service. Employee file records 
and file records of public figures or otherwise sensitive medical 
record files are stored in separate locked files. Strict control 
measures are enforced to ensure that disclosure is limited to a ``need 
to know'' basis.
    2. Strict control measures are enforced to ensure that access to 
and disclosure from all records including electronic files are limited 
to VA employees whose official duties warrant access to those files. 
The system recognizes authorized employees by a series of individually-
unique passwords/codes, and the employees are limited to only that 
information in the file, which is needed in the performance of their 
official duties.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with the 
record disposition authority approved by the Archivist of the United 
States, National Archives and Records Administration under the National 
Archives Job No. N1-15-02-04.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Chief Consultant, Diagnostic Services, Strategic Healthcare Group 
(SHG) (115), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20420.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Individuals seeking information concerning the existence and/or 
content of a blood donor information record pertaining to themselves 
must submit a written request or apply in person to the VA health care 
facility where the donation occurred. All inquiries must reasonably 
identify the portion of the blood donor information record desired and 
the approximate date(s) that service was provided. Additionally, 
inquiries should include the individual's full name, social security 
number, and home address at the time of medical service, if known.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Blood donors, patients of VA medical care facilities or duly 
authorized representatives seeking information regarding access to or 
who are contesting VA health facility records may write, call or visit 
the VHA facility where medical service was provided or volunteered.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    (See Record Access Procedures above.)

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    1. The blood donor.
    2. Private hospitals and local blood banks.
    3. Private physicians.
    4. Non-VA Laboratories.

[FR Doc. 04-24079 Filed 10-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P