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Privacy Act System Notice 09-20-0136

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System of Records Notices

Privacy Act System Notice 09-20-0136

System name: Epidemiologic Studies and Surveillance of Disease Problems. HHS/CDC

Security classification: None.

System location: National Center for Infectious Diseases, Coordinating Center
for Infectious Diseases, Bldg. 1, Rm. 6013, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

San Juan Laboratories, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Coordinating
Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Calle Casia Canada, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00920.

CDC-Anchorage, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Coordinating Center for
Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4055 Tudor
Center Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508.

CDC Fort Collins, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center
for Infectious Diseases, Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 1300 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO 80521.

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Coordinating
Center for Health Promotion, Executive Park Bldg. 12, Rm. 5036, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333.

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,
Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, Koger/Columbia Bldg., Rm. 3008,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Atlanta, GA
30341-3724.

National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Coordinating Center for
Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Century Center, Bldg. 1825, Rm.
4063, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE,
Atlanta, GA 30333.

National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, Coordinating Center for
Infectious Diseases, Corporate Square, Bldg. 8, Rm. 6171, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

National Center for Health Marketing, Coordinating Center for Health Information
and Service, Century Center, Bldg. 2500, Rm. 4203, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Coordinating Center for
Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Koger /Vanderbilt Bldg., Rm. 1017B,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Atlanta, GA
30341-3724.

National Immunization Program, Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases,
Corporate Square, Bldg. 12, Rm. 5113, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Immunization Safety Office, Office of the Chief Science Officer, Bldg. 20,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA
30333.

Office of Public Health Genomics, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion,
Koger/Williams Bldg., Rm. 1718, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770
Buford Highway, NE, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724.

Office of Workforce and Career Development, Century Center, Bldg. 2400, Rm.
6508, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE,
Atlanta, GA 30333.

and

Federal Records Center, 4712 Southpark Blvd., Ellenwood, GA 30294.

A list of contractor sites where individually identifiable data are currently
located is available upon request to the appropriate system manager.

Categories of individuals covered by the system: Adults and children with
diseases and other preventable conditions of public health significance; also
included are control group participants. Workers employed by the Department of
Energy and its predecessor agencies and their contractors are also included.

Categories of records in the system: Case reports, medical records,
questionnaires, and related documents.

Authority for maintenance of the system: Public Health Service Act, Section 301,
"Research and Investigation," (42 U.S.C. 241); and Sections 304, 306 and 308(d)
which discuss authority to maintain data and provide assurances of
confidentiality for health research and related activities (42 U.S.C. 242 b, k,
and m(d)).

Purpose(s): This record system enables Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) officials to better understand disease patterns in the United
States, develop programs for prevention and control of health problems, and
communicate new knowledge to the health community.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users
and the purposes of such uses: CDC is under contract with private firms for the
purpose of collating, analyzing, aggregating or otherwise refining records in
this system. Relevant records are maintained by such contractors. Contractors
are required to maintain Privacy Act safeguards with respect to such records.

The following routine uses apply to all records in this system except those
maintained under an assurance of confidentiality provided by Section 308(d) of
the Public Health Service Act (unless expressly authorized in the consent form
or stipulated in the Assurance Statement):

A record may be disclosed for a research purpose, when the Department:

(A) has determined that the use or disclosure does not violate legal or policy
limitations under which the record was provided, collected, or obtained;

(B) has determined that the research purpose (1) cannot be reasonably
accomplished unless the record is provided in individually identified form, and
(2) warrants the risk to the privacy of the individual that additional exposure
of the record might bring;

(C) has required the recipient to (1) establish reasonable administrative,
technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of
the record, (2) remove or destroy the information that identifies the individual
at the earliest time at which removal or destruction can be accomplished
consistent with the purpose of the research project, unless the recipient has
presented adequate justification of a research or health nature for retaining
such information, and (3) make no further use or disclosure of the record except
(a) in emergency circumstances affecting the health or safety of any individual,
(b) for use in another research project, under these same conditions, and with
written authorization of the Department, (c) for disclosure to a properly
identified person for the purpose of an audit related to the research project,
if information that would enable research subjects to be identified is removed
or destroyed at the earliest opportunity consistent with the purpose of the
audit, or (d) when required by law;

(D) has secured a written statement attesting to the recipient's understanding
of, and willingness to abide by these provisions.

Disclosure may be made to organizations deemed qualified by the Secretary to
carry out quality assessment, medical audits or utilization review.

Records may be disclosed to health departments and other public health or
cooperating medical authorities in connection with program activities and
related collaborative efforts to deal more effectively with diseases and
conditions of public health significance.

Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record of an
individual in response to a verified inquiry from the congressional office made
at the written request of that individual.

In the event of litigation where the defendant is: (a) the Department, any
component of the Department, or any employee of the Department in his or her
official capacity; (b) the United States where the Department determines that
the claim, if successful, is likely to directly affect the operations of the
Department or any of its components; or (c) any Department employee in his or
her individual capacity where the Justice Department has agreed to represent
such employee, for example, in defending a claim against the Public Health
Service based upon an individual's mental or physical condition and alleged to
have arisen because of activities of the Public Health Service in connection
with such individual, disclosure may be made to the Department of Justice to
enable that Department to present an effective defense, provided that such
disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.

Records may be disclosed by CDC in connection with public health activities to
the Social Security Administration for sources of locating information to
accomplish the research or program purposes for which the records were
collected.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and
disposing of records in the system:

Storage: Computer tapes/disks, printouts, CD-ROMs, and file folders.

Retrievability: By name of individual and by identification number.

Safeguards:
Authorized Users: A database security package is implemented on CDC's
mainframe computer to control unauthorized access to the system. Attempts to
gain access by unauthorized individuals are automatically recorded and
reviewed on a regular basis. Access is granted to only a limited number of
physicians, scientists, statisticians, and designated support staff of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or its contractors, as
authorized by the system manager to accomplish the stated purposes for which
the data in this system have been collected.
Physical Safeguards: Access to the CDC Clifton Road facility where the
mainframe computer is located is controlled by a cardkey system. Access to the
computer room is controlled by a cardkey and security code (numeric keypad)
system. Access to the data entry area is also controlled by a cardkey system.
The hard copy records are kept in locked cabinets in locked rooms. The local
fire department is located directly next door to the Clifton Road facility.
The computer room is protected by an automatic sprinkler system, numerous
automatic sensors (e.g., water, heat, smoke, etc.) are installed, and a proper
mix of portable fire extinguishers is located throughout the computer room.
The system is backed up on a nightly basis with copies of the files stored off
site in a secure fireproof safe. Security guard service in buildings provides
personnel screening of visitors.
Procedural Safeguards: Protection for computerized records both on the
mainframe and the National Centers’ Local Area Networks (LAN)s includes
programmed verification of valid user identification code and password prior
to logging on to the system, mandatory password changes, limited log-ins,
virus protection, and user rights/file attribute restrictions. Password
protection imposes user name and password log-in requirements to prevent
unauthorized access. Each user name is assigned limited access rights to files
and directories at varying levels to control file sharing. There are routine
daily backup procedures and secure off-site storage is available for backup
files. To avoid inadvertent data disclosure, an additional procedure is
performed to ensure that all data are removed from Privacy Act computer tapes
and/or other magnetic media. Additional safeguards may be built into the
program by the system analyst as warranted by the sensitivity of the data.

CDC and contractor employees who maintain records are instructed to check with
the system manager prior to making disclosures of data. When individually
identified data are being used in a room, admittance at either CDC or contractor
sites is restricted to specifically authorized personnel. Privacy Act provisions
are included in contracts, and the CDC Project Director, contract officers and
project officers oversee compliance with these requirements. Upon completion of
the contract, all data will be either returned to CDC or destroyed, as specified
by the contract.
Implementation Guidelines: The safeguards outlined above are in accordance
with the HHS Information Security Program Policy and FIPS Pub 200, “Minimum
Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems.” Data
maintained on CDC’s Mainframe and the National Centers” LANs are in compliance
with OMB Circular A-130, Appendix III. Security is provided for information
collection, processing, transmission, storage, and dissemination in general
support systems and major applications.

Retention and disposal: Records are retained and disposed of in accordance with
the CDC Records Control Schedule. Record copy of study reports are maintained
in agency from two to three years in accordance with retention schedules. Source
documents for computer are disposed of when no longer needed by program
officials. Personal identifiers may be deleted from records when no longer
needed in the study as determined by the system manager, and as provided in the
signed consent form, as appropriate. Disposal methods include erasing computer
tapes, burning or shredding paper materials or transferring records to the
Federal Records Center when no longer needed for evaluation and analysis.
Records are retained for 20 years; for longer periods if further study is
needed.

System manager(s) and address: Director, National Center for Infectious
Diseases, Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, Bldg. 1, Rm. 6013, MS
C12, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta,
GA 30333.

Director, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities,
Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, Executive Park Bldg. 12, Rm. 5036, MS
E87, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA
30333.

Director, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,
Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, Koger/Columbia Bldg., Rm. 3008, MS
K40, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE,
Atlanta, GA 30341-3724.

Director, National Center for Environmental Health, Coordinating Center for
Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Century Center, Bldg. 1825, Rm.
4063, MS E28, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE,
Atlanta, GA 30333.

Director, National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, Coordinating Center
for Infectious Diseases, Corporate Square, Bldg. 8, Rm. 6171, MS E07, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Director, National Center for Health Marketing, Coordinating Center for Health
Information and Service, Century Center, Bldg. 2500, Rm. 4203, MS E21, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Director, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Coordinating
Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Koger /Vanderbilt Bldg.,
Rm. 1017B, MS K02, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford
Highway, NE, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724.

Director, National Immunization Program, Coordinating Center for Infectious
Diseases, Corporate Square, Bldg. 12, Rm. 5113, MS E05, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Director, Immunization Safety Office, Office of the Chief Science Officer,
Bldg. 20, MS D26, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road,
NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Director, Office of Public Health Genomics, Coordinating Center for Health
Promotion, Koger/Williams Bldg., Rm. 1718, MS K89, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724.

Director, Office of Workforce and Career Development, Century Center, Bldg.
2400, Rm. 6508, MS E94, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton
Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Policy coordination is provided by: CDC Chief Information Officer, Bldg. 21, Rm.
12121, MS D14, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road,
NE, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Notification procedure: An individual may learn if a record exists about himself
or herself or may obtain information concerning participation in epidemiological
studies or surveillance activities by contacting the appropriate system manager
at the address listed above. Requesters in person must provide driver's license
or other positive identification. Individuals who do not appear in person must
either: (1) submit a notarized request to verify their identity; or (2) certify
that they are the individuals they claim to be and that they understand that the
knowing and willful request for or acquisition of a record pertaining to an
individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense under the Privacy Act
subject to a $5,000 fine.

An individual who requests notification of or access to medical records shall,
at the time the request is made, designate in writing a responsible
representative who is willing to review the record and inform the subject
individual of its contents at the representative's discretion. A parent or
guardian who requests notification of, or access to, a child's medical record
shall designate a family physician or other health professional (other than a
family member) to whom the record, if any, will be sent. The parent or guardian
must verify relationship to the child by means of a birth certificate or court
order, as well as verify that he or she is who he or she claims to be.

The following information must be provided when requesting notification: (1)
full name; (2) the approximate date and place of the study, if known; and (3)
nature of the questionnaire or study in which the requester participated.

Record access procedures: Same as notification procedures. Requesters should
also reasonably specify the record contents being sought. An accounting of
disclosures that have been made of the record, if any, may be requested.

Contesting record procedures: Contact the first official at the address
specified under System Manager above, reasonably identify the record and specify
the information being contested, the corrective action sought, and the reasons
for requesting the correction, along with supporting information to show how the
record is inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant.

Record source categories: Individuals, private physicians, State and local
health departments, and other health care providers.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act: None.

[Federal Register: December 31, 1992 (Volume 57, Number 252)] [Notices] [Page
62812-62813] (PDF - 2 MB)