KRS 216.2927: Types of data not to be published, released, or subject to inspection --

Public-use data agreements and privacy rules -- Confidentiality of raw data --

Penalty for violation.

(1) The following types of data shall be deemed as relating to p ersonal privacy and,

except by court order, shall not be published or otherwise released by the cabinet or

its staff and shall not be subject to inspection under KRS 61.870 to 61.884:

(a) Any data, summary of data, correspondence, or notes that identify or could be

used to identify any individual patient or member of the general public, unless

the identified individual gives written permission to release the data or

correspondence;

(b) Any correspondence or related notes from or to any employee or employees

of a provider if the correspondence or notes identify or could be used to

identify any individual employee of a provider, unless the corresponding

persons grant permission to release the correspondence; and

(c) Data considered by the cabinet to be incompl ete, preliminary, substantially in

error, or not representative, the release of which could produce misleading

information.

(2) Health care providers submitting required data to the cabinet shall not be required

to obtain individual permission to release the data, except as specified in subsection

(1) of this section, and, if submission of the data to the cabinet complies with

pertinent administrative regulations promulgated pursuant to KRS Chapter 13A,

shall not be deemed as having violated any statute or administrative regulation

protecting individual privacy.

(3) (a) No less than sixty (60) days after the annual report or reports are published

and except as otherwise provided, the cabinet shall make all aggregate data

which does not allow disclosure of th e identity of any individual patient, and

which was obtained for the annual period covered by the reports, available to

the public.

(b) Persons or organizations requesting use of the data shall agree to abide by a

public-use data agreement and by HIPAA pri vacy rules referenced in 45

C.F.R. Part 164. The public-use data agreement shall include, at a minimum, a

prohibition against the sale or further release of data, and guidelines for the

use and analysis of the data released to the public related to provide r quality,

outcomes, or charges.

(4) Collection of data about individual patients shall include information commonly

used to identify an individual for assigning a unique patient identifier. Upon

assigning a unique patient identifier, all direct identifyin g information shall be

stripped from the data and shall not be retained by the cabinet or the cabinet's

designee.

(5) All data and information collected shall be kept in a secure location and under lock

and key when specifically responsible personnel are absent.

(6) Only designated cabinet staff shall have access to raw data and information. The

designated staff shall be made aware of their responsibilities to maintain

confidentiality. Staff with access to raw data and information shall sign a statement

indicating that the staff person accepts responsibility to hold that data or identifying

information in confidence and is aware of penalties under state or federal law for

breach of confidentiality. Data which, because of small sample size, breaches the

confidence of individual patients, shall not be released.

(7) Any employee of the cabinet who violates any provision of thi s section shall be

fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation or be confined in

the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both, and shall be removed and

disqualified from office or employment.