[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 162 (Thursday, August 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51455-51456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18248]


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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 (HHS)

[[Page 51456]]

announces the following advisory committee meeting.
    Name: National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), 
Hearing of the Subcommittee on Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security.
    Dates and Times: Monday, September 14, 2020: 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Place: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Virtual.

Status: Open.
    Purpose: At the September 14, 2020, hearing, the National Committee 
on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), Subcommittee on Privacy, 
Confidentiality, and Security, will explore the privacy, 
confidentiality, and security considerations for data collection and 
use during a public health emergency, in light of the nationwide COVID-
19 pandemic.
    The Subcommittee will hear from invited experts and review written 
testimony received in advance from interested individuals, 
organizations, and stakeholders.
    At the hearing, NCVHS will receive input from public health 
practitioners, academics, advocates, representatives of industry, and 
other experts about data stewardship principles designed to guide the 
privacy and security of individually identifiable health information 
when new technologies are deployed for public health surveillance 
during an emergency. These are expected to touch on new uses of 
medical, geolocation, proximity, or adjacency data; social media; 
contact tracing applications; privacy and security guardrails essential 
to responsible use of data when creating and employing new tools; and 
future use and lifecycle management of individually identifiable health 
data. The Committee will also consider concerns raised by privacy, 
civil rights, and public interest advocates about the potential for 
discrimination and harm when information intended to protect the public 
is repurposed for other uses, such as law enforcement, immigration, or 
unrelated research or commercial enterprise.
    The Committee will use this input to inform development and 
dissemination of best practices for safeguarding individually 
identifiable health data collected, used, and shared during a pandemic 
or long-term nationwide public health emergency.
    The Committee requests comments from the public to inform its 
deliberations in advance and will consider them together with the input 
of subject matter experts at the hearing. The Committee has developed 
specific questions to ensure comments address key issues under 
consideration, available at: https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/Sept-2020-PCS-Subcommittee-Hearing-Public-Comment-Questions. Please submit comments 
using the questions provided at this link to [email protected] by close 
of business Wednesday, September 9, 2020.
    There will be a public comment period at the meeting. The meeting 
times and topics are subject to change. Please refer to the NCVHS 
website for information and agenda updates.
    Contact Person for More Information:
    Substantive program information may be obtained from Rebecca Hines, 
MHS, Executive Secretary, NCVHS, National Center for Health Statistics, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3311 Toledo Road, 
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, telephone (301) 458-4715. Summaries of 
meetings and a roster of Committee members are available on the home 
page of the NCVHS website: https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/. Further information, 
including an agenda and instructions to access the broadcast of the 
meeting, will be posted on the NCVHS website.
    Should you require reasonable accommodation, please contact the CDC 
Office of Equal Employment Opportunity on (770) 488-3210 as soon as 
possible.

Sharon Arnold,
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 
Science and Data Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning 
and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 2020-18248 Filed 8-19-20; 8:45 am]
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