SUPPORTING STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL PUBLIC HEALTH DATA.

SEC. 2213. SUPPORTING STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL PUBLIC HEALTH DATA.(a) Designation of Public Health Data Standards.—Section 2823(a)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–33(a)(2)) is amended—(1) by striking “In carrying out” and inserting the following:“(A) In general.—In carrying out” ; and (2) by striking “shall, as appropriate and” and inserting “shall, not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the PREVENT Pandemics Act,”; and (3) by adding at the end the following:“(B) No duplicative efforts.—“(i) In general.—In carrying out the requirements of this paragraph, the Secretary, in consultation with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, may use input gathered 136 STAT. 5735 (including input and recommendations gathered from the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee), and materials developed, prior to the date of enactment of the PREVENT Pandemics Act. “(ii) Designation of standards.—Consistent with sections 13111 and 13112 of the HITECH Act, the data and technology standards designated pursuant to this paragraph shall align with the standards and implementation specifications previously adopted by the Secretary pursuant to section 3004, as applicable. “(C) Privacy and security.—Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as modifying applicable Federal or State information privacy or security law.” . (b) Study on Laboratory Information Standards.—(1) In general.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology shall conduct a study to review the use of standards for electronic ordering and reporting of laboratory test results. (2) Areas of concentration.—In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology shall—(A) determine the extent to which clinical laboratories are using standards for electronic ordering and reporting of laboratory test results; (B) assess trends in laboratory compliance with standards for ordering and reporting laboratory test results and the effect of such trends on the interoperability of laboratory data with public health data systems; (C) identify challenges related to collection and reporting of demographic and other data elements with respect to laboratory test results; (D) identify any challenges associated with using or complying with standards and reporting laboratory test results with data elements identified in standards for electronic ordering and reporting of such results; and (E) review other relevant areas determined appropriate by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. (3) Report.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report concerning the findings of the study conducted under paragraph (1). (c) Data Use Agreements.—(1) Interagency data use agreements within the department of health and human services for public health emergencies.—(A) In general.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this subsection as the “Secretary”) shall, as appropriate, facilitate the development of, or updates to, memoranda of understanding, data use agreements, or other applicable interagency agreements regarding appropriate access, exchange, and use of public health data between the Centers for Disease Control and 136 STAT. 5736 Prevention, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, other relevant agencies or offices within the Department of Health and Human Services, and other relevant Federal agencies, in order to prepare for, identify, monitor, and respond to declared or potential public health emergencies. (B) Requirements.—In carrying out activities pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall—(i) ensure that the agreements and memoranda of understanding described in such subparagraph—(I) address the methods of granting access to data held by one agency or office with another to support the respective missions of such agencies or offices; (II) consider minimum necessary principles of data sharing for appropriate use; (III) include appropriate privacy and cybersecurity protections; and (IV) are subject to regular updates, as appropriate; (ii) collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and, as appropriate, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and other entities within the Department of Health and Human Services; and (iii) consider the terms and conditions of any existing data use agreements with other public or private entities and any need for updates to such existing agreements, consistent with paragraph (2). (2) Data use agreements with external entities.—The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, may update memoranda of understanding, data use agreements, or other applicable agreements and contracts to improve appropriate access, exchange, and use of public health data between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and external entities, including State, Tribal, and territorial health departments, laboratories, hospitals and other health care providers, electronic health records vendors, and other entities, as applicable and appropriate, in order to prepare for, identify, monitor, and respond to declared or potential public health emergencies. (3) Report.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives on the status of the agreements under this subsection. (d) Improving Information Sharing and Availability of Public Health Data.—Part A of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:136 STAT. 5737 “SEC. 310B. IMPROVING STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL INFORMATION SHARING.“(a) In General.—The Secretary may, in consultation with State, local, and Tribal public health officials, carry out activities to improve the availability of appropriate and applicable public health data related to communicable diseases, and information sharing between, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and such State, local, and Tribal public health officials, which may include such data from—“(1) health care providers and facilities; “(2) public health and clinical laboratories; “(3) health information exchanges and health information networks; and “(4) State, local, and Tribal health departments. “(b) Content, Form, and Manner.—The Secretary shall, consistent with the requirements of this section, work with such officials and relevant stakeholders to provide information on the content, form, and manner in which such data, deidentified as applicable, may most effectively support the ability of State, local, and Tribal health departments to respond to such communicable diseases, including related to the collection and reporting of demographic and other relevant data elements. Such form and manner requirements shall align with the standards and implementation specifications adopted by the Secretary under section 3004, as applicable. “(c) Decreased Burden.—In facilitating the coordination of efforts under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make reasonable efforts to limit reported public health data to the minimum necessary information needed to accomplish the intended public health purpose. “(d) Exemption of Certain Public Health Data From Disclosure.—The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may exempt from disclosure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code, public health data that are gathered under this section if—“(1) an individual is identified through such data; or “(2) there is at least a very small risk, as determined by current scientific practices or statistical methods, that some combination of the information, the request, and other available data sources or the application of technology could be used to deduce the identity of an individual.” . (e) Improving State, Local, and Tribal Public Health Data.—(1) In general.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities for purposes of identifying, developing, or disseminating best practices in electronic health information and the use of designated data standards and implementation specifications, including privacy standards, to improve the quality and completeness of data, including demographic data used for public health purposes. (2) Eligible entities.—To be eligible to receive an award under this subsection an entity shall—(A) be a health care provider, academic medical center, community-based organization, State, local governmental 136 STAT. 5738 entity, Indian Tribe or Tribal organization (as such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)), urban Indian organization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)), or other appropriate public or private nonprofit entity, or a consortia of any such entities; and (B) submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (3) Activities.—Entities receiving awards under this subsection shall use such award to develop and test best practices for training health care providers to use standards and implementation specifications that assist in the capture, access, exchange, and use of electronic health information, deidentified as applicable, such as demographic information, disability status, veteran status, and functional status. Such activities shall include, at a minimum—(A) improving, understanding, and using data standards and implementation specifications; (B) developing or identifying methods to improve communication with patients in a culturally- and linguistically-appropriate manner, including to better capture information related to demographics of such individuals; (C) developing methods for accurately categorizing and recording patient responses using available data standards; (D) educating providers regarding the utility of such information for public health purposes and the importance of accurate collection and recording of such data; and (E) providing information regarding how data will be deidentified if used for such public health purposes, as applicable and appropriate. (4) Reporting.—(A) Reporting by award recipients.—Each recipient of an award under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary a report on the results of best practices identified, developed, or disseminated through such award. (B) Report to congress.—Not later than 1 year after the completion of the program under this subsection, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the success of best practices developed under such program, opportunities for further dissemination of such best practices, and recommendations for improving the capture, access, exchange, and use of information to improve public health and reduce health disparities. (5) Non-duplication of efforts.—The Secretary shall ensure that the activities and programs carried out under this subsection are free of unnecessary duplication of effort. (f) Rules of Construction.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to—(1) supplant, in whole or in part, State, local, or Tribal activities or responsibilities related to public health surveillance, as applicable; (2) alter the authority of the Secretary with respect to the types of data the Secretary may receive through systems supported or established in this section or other laws; or136 STAT. 5739 (3) modify applicable Federal or State information privacy or security law.