- The Division Director (or designee) will approve (or reject) the research proposal based on the recommendations of the committee members and will forward any approved proposal involving the use of PHI to the Divisional Privacy Officer for further review.
- The Division Privacy Officer will review the request to determine whether the matter of client PHI disclosure is adequately addressed in the proposal.
- The Divisional Privacy Officer will relate a position to the Division Director (or designee) whether the matter of PHI release is satisfactorily addressed and may submit the proposal to the Department Privacy Review Board if the proposal requires consideration of an ‘authorization to disclose’ waiver. The DSS Privacy Review Board is comprised of the DSS Privacy Officer, divisional privacy officers under the covered entity (DSS), and one qualified individual appointed by the DSS Director. The DSS Privacy Officer is the chairman of the DSS Privacy Review Board.
- The Department Privacy Review Board will review the request and determine whether a waiver of the required authorization will be granted. The Divisional Privacy Officer will, in turn, notify the Division Director (or designee) as to whether the Division may proceed (and under what considerations if applicable) where PHI release is an issue. Waiver by the Board of the individual authorization required by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) will be done in compliance with the provisions in 45 CFR 164.512(i).
- The committee will inform the requestor, in writing, of the decision. This may include contingencies (such as Regional Director approval if needed, reasons for rejection, and/or request for additional information).
- The requestor is required to allow the Children’s Division Director (or designee) to review the research findings before publication. Failure to share findings in past research projects will be a consideration in the approval of future studies.
- The requestor is required to send the Children’s Division a copy of final product.
- The Division Director shall designate a person in Central Office to monitor research activities for adherence to the agreed upon implementation terms in accordance with standards set forth by the Division Director (or designee). The person/s chosen to monitor such approved research requests shall keep a record of all research activities. At least annually, the person/s chosen to monitor approved requests will conduct a review of research involving program participants to assess areas of overall risk to the Children’s Division (in accordance with COA standard RPM 2.01).
Leave a Comment: