NEWS

Next Public Health Grand Rounds broadcast to focus on medical privacy rule

CHAPEL HILL -- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, a federal law that goes into effect April 14, institutes new regulations regarding medical data privacy and the use of protected health information.

A panel of public health experts will discuss "HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing or Harming the Public’s Health?" Friday (March 28) during the latest installment of Public Health Grand Rounds, a co-production of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The live hour-long broadcast, airing at 2 p.m., will be available by webcast and satellite broadcast, with sites across North Carolina, the nation and Canada where people may view the program and participate in a dialogue with public health experts.

This presentation aims to foster understanding of HIPAA by providing information about compliance and discussing the implications for public health practice.

"The privacy rule is an important piece of federal regulation that is necessary to effectively protect individual privacy," said Dr. Ed Thompson, deputy director for Public Health Services at the CDC. "Although complying with it may seem overwhelming at times, we need to work together to protect personal privacy, understand the regulation and maintain our ability to carry out critical public health functions."

Participants in the free, one-hour program will identify entities that must comply with HIPAA, describe applications of the regulation to state and local health departments, discuss ways in which the rule will impact public health practice and research, and identify strategies to limit negative effects of HIPAA on public health activities.

"How the privacy rule affects tribal, state and local public health authorities has been a dominant public health issue across the United States since the rule’s final introduction," said James G. Hodge Jr., deputy director of the Center for Law and the Public’s Health at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown universities. "We believe this program will contribute to a broader understanding of the regulation and its implications for public health."

Thompson and Hodge will be joined on the panel by Dr. Bill Roper, dean of the UNC School of Public Health, and Dr. Hugh Tilson, clinical professor of epidemiology and health policy at the school.

The broadcast is intended for professionals representing the fields of public health, local and state government agencies, boards of health, community organizations, academic institutions and federal agencies, as well as those seeking to learn more about the HIPAA privacy rule and its effect on public health practice.

Viewers may submit questions to the panel at interactive satellite conference sites, by fax or online. The panelists will respond, live, to as many questions as time will permit, with further discussion online following the broadcast.

Since its inception in 1999, the Public Health Grand Rounds series has covered emerging issues of importance to the public health community and the people it serves, including bioterrorism, asthma, genetics, breast cancer screening, disaster preparedness, West Nile Virus, food safety, urban sprawl, obesity and wired communities.

To register for the program or identify a downlink site location or site for individual viewing, click on www.PublicHealthGrandRounds.unc.edu.

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Note: Donna Davis, project director for Public Health Grand Rounds, is available for interviews at (919) 966-9134 or donna_davis@unc.edu.

North Carolina Institute for Public Health contacts: Lisa Morris, (919) 843-9261 or lamorris@email.unc.edu; and Bev Holt, (919) 966-6274 or bev_holt@unc.edu
School of Public Health contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 966-7467
News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415