(a)

1. (1) Acts 1995, No. 670, State Health Data Clearinghouse Act, Arkansas Code § 20-7-301 et seq., provides for the strictest confidentiality of data and severe penalties for the violation of the State Health Data Clearinghouse Act.
2. (2) Any information collected from hospitals which identifies a patient, provider, institution, or health plan cannot be released without promulgation of rules by the State Board of Health in accordance with Acts 1995, No. 670, § 2(g) and (h).
3. (3) The Department of Health will only release data, except as allowed by law that has sufficiently masked these identities.

(b)

1. (1) Since the department needs patient-specific information to complete our analyses, we will take every prudent action to ensure the confidentiality and security of the data submitted to us.

2. (2) Procedures include, but are not limited to:

   1. (A) Physical security and monitoring;
   2. (B) Access to the files by authorized personnel only;
   3. (C) Passwords; and
   4. (D) Encryption.
3. (3) Not all measures taken are documented or mentioned in this guide to further protect our data.