Law / United States / 
Delaware
Confidentiality of personal health information: public health uses and disclosure
Del. Code Ann. tit. 16, §§ 1210 to 1213
In force since .
A sensitive categories rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Consent, Disclosure, Retention, Data subject rights
- Audit expectation
- none
As of .
What it requires
- If you are the Department of Health and Social Services or one of the review commissions section 1211(a) names, use protected health information you collect solely for legitimate public health purposes, limit each use to the minimum amount the official using it reasonably believes is necessary, use nonidentifiable health information whenever possible, never use it for commercial purposes, and expunge it once its use no longer furthers the purpose for which it was acquired.
- Do not disclose protected health information without the informed consent of the individual (a dated written authorization, on a form substantially similar to the Department's, that names the recipient, the general purpose and the period it is effective), except as section 1212(d) and (e) allow, and disclose it in nonidentifiable form and in the minimum amount necessary whenever possible.
- If you received protected health information under the subchapter, do not disclose it to another person except as the subchapter authorizes. The bar does not apply to disclosure to the individual, to the individual's parents, guardians or other lawful decision-makers where the individual cannot consent, or by a person specifically required by federal or state law to disclose.
- If you are a medical laboratory, give an individual a copy of the results of that individual's laboratory examination on written request. You may require a reasonable copying fee for copying and transmitting the records.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, which enforces the subchapter and promulgates its forms and regulations (16 Del. C. section 1213).
What this law does
In subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 16, protected health information means information, in any form, that relates to an individual's past, present or future physical or mental health status, condition, treatment, service, products purchased, or provision of care and that reveals the identity of the individual or could reasonably be used to reveal it.
Under section 1211 of title 16, protected health information collected by the Department of Health and Social Services or its agencies, and by three named review commissions, must be used solely for legitimate public health purposes. Under section 1211 of title 16, the State may not use protected health information for commercial purposes, and protected health information whose use no longer furthers the legitimate public health purpose for which it was acquired must be expunged.
Under section 1212 of title 16, protected health information is not public information and may not be disclosed without the informed consent of the individual who is the subject of the information, except as the statute expressly provides. Under section 1212(g) of title 16, no person to whom protected health information has been disclosed under the subchapter may disclose it to another person except as the subchapter authorizes.
Under section 1212(h) of title 16, on the written request of an individual, a medical laboratory must provide a copy of the results of that individual's laboratory examination, and may require a reasonable copying fee. Chapter 329 of volume 75 of the Laws of Delaware, approved , added the medical laboratory copy provision, then as subsection (h) of section 1232 of title 16.
The Department of Health and Social Services enforces subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 16 and promulgates the forms and regulations needed for that purpose.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app handles health records.