California Cancer Reporting System Standards Volume I: Abstracting and Coding Procedures
The California Health and Safety Code stipulates that the identity of patients whose cases are reported to the CCR must be held in the strictest confidence. Information that could be used to identify a patient may not be released to or discussed with anyone other than authorized personnel at the reporting facility or other reporting sources, unless prior informed consent is received from the patient. Section 100330 of the code states:
All records of interviews, written reports and statements procured by the state Department of Public Health or by any other person, agency or organization acting jointly with the state department, in connection with special morbidity and mortality studies shall be confidential insofar as the identity of the individual patient is concerned and shall be used solely for the purposes of the study. The furnishing of such information to the state or its authorized representative, or to any other cooperating individual, agency or organization in any such special study, shall not subject any person, hospital, sanitarium, rest home, nursing home, or other organization furnishing such information to any action for damages.
The CCR also has a policy of maintaining the confidentiality of any information that could be used to identify the caseload of a specific facility or physician.
Under certain circumstances confidential information may be released for research purposes without the patient's consent.
Legal provisions for these exceptions to the rules of confidentiality are contained in the Information Practices Act, Civil Code 1798.24. (See Appendix J for a sample Patient Information Sheet for use in notifying patients that cancer is reportable.)
For more information regarding the CCR's confidentiality policy, please see the CCR web site: http://www.ccrcal.org