Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 105 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH › Title 105 CMR 305.000 - Confidential Birth Information › Section 305.004 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
As used in
				105 CMR 305.000, the
				following words have the following meanings:
Administrative Purposes
means data
				collected to administer or evaluate a program and for data quality control.
				Administrative purposes include vital registration and recordkeeping purposes
				as set forth in M.G.L. c. 46 and M.G.L. c. 209C and child support enforcement
				purposes as set forth in M.G.L. c. 119A. Administrative purposes specifically
				exclude any other uses of confidential birth data to make any determination
				about identifiable individuals, such as determining whether a person is
				eligible for a license, privilege, right, grant or benefit or whether such
				should be revoked.
Aggregate Data
means data collected
				from individual-level records that have been combined for statistical, research
				or administrative purposes.
Cell Size Suppression
means a
				statistical method used to report aggregate data in tables that restricts or
				suppresses disclosure of subsets of aggregate data to protect the identity and
				privacy of data subjects and to avoid the risk of identification of individuals
				in small population groups.
Commissioner
means the Commissioner of
				the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Confidential Birth Information
means
				all data elements, other than the facts required to be recorded pursuant to
				M.G.L. c. 46, § 1, that the Department or its agents acquire, collect and
				maintain pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111, § 24B, related to the birth of a child
				in the Commonwealth.
Contact
means to communicate or
				attempt to communicate with a data subject or the data subject's parent,
				guardian, or health care provider by any means, including, but not limited to,
				in-person, telephone, facsimile, letter, or electronic mail.
Data Subject
means the individual
				about whom the data or information relates.
De-identified Data
means birth
				information that does not contain any data that could be used to identify a
				particular individual. The specific variables that are permitted in a
				de-identified data set are listed in the Department's Confidentiality Policy
				and Procedures. De-identified data may be released as a public record.
Department
means the Massachusetts
				Department of Public Health.
Disclose
means to transfer,
				disseminate, or otherwise communicate or divulge any confidential birth
				information to any person or entity.
Identifiable Data
means any data or
				information that:
(1) Reveals the identity of the data subject or is readily
				identified with the data subject, including, but not limited to, name, address,
				telephone number, social security number, health identification number, or date
				of birth; or
(2) Provides a reasonable basis to believe that the information
				could be used, either alone or in combination with other information, to
				identify a data subject.
Institutional Review Board
means any
				board, committee, or other group formally designated by an institution, and
				approved by the federal Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to 45
				CFR Part 46 to review, approve, and periodically evaluate research projects to
				protect the rights of human research subjects.
Limited Data Set
means confidential
				birth information derived from vital records that excludes direct identifiers
				of individuals but is not completely de-identified and is not suitable for
				public disclosure. The following are considered direct identifiers: Name,
				street address and equivalent geocode, phone number(s), social security number,
				license number(s), e-mail address(es), or any other unique identifying
				number(s), characteristic(s), or code(s) that is (are) readily associated with
				an individual.
Linkage
means the combination of
				individual-level confidential birth information with any other information
				system in whatever form.
Non-marital Birth
means any birth of a
				child whose parents are not married to each other at the time of birth or
				within 300 days of the birth of the child.
Person
means an individual,
				corporation, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company,
				association, government or governmental body, or any other legal entity.
Pledge of Confidentiality
means a
				written statement, dated and signed by an individual who is granted access to
				confidential birth information, that certifies the individual's agreement to
				abide by the confidentiality restrictions stated in the written
				statement.
Public Health Authority
means an
				agency or authority of the United States, a State, a territory, a political
				subdivision of a State or territory, or an Indian tribe, or a person or entity
				acting under a grant of authority from or contract with such public agency,
				including the employees or agents of such public agency or its contractors or
				persons or entities to whom it has granted authority, that is responsible for
				public health matters as part of its official mandate.
Public Health Purpose
means a
				population-based activity or individual effort primarily aimed at: the
				reduction of morbidity or mortality; the prevention of injury, illness,
				disease, disability or premature mortality; the improvement of health outcomes;
				or the promotion of health in the community, including assessing the health
				needs and status of the community through public health reporting and
				surveillance, developing public health policy, and responding to public health
				needs and emergencies.
Registrar
means the Registrar of the
				Registry of Vital Records and Statistics established by the Massachusetts
				Department of Public Health pursuant to M.G.L. c. 17, § 4.
Research
means a systematic
				investigation designed primarily to develop or contribute to general knowledge,
				including public health, medical, social, demographic and historical
				research.
Statistical Purposes
means data
				collected for generating aggregate descriptions, estimations or analyses of
				groups of persons or institutions, without regard to the identities of specific
				individuals. Statistical purposes include child support enforcement purposes as
				set forth in M.G.L. c. 119A. Statistical purposes specifically exclude any
				other uses of confidential birth data to make any determination about
				identifiable individuals, such as determining whether a person is eligible for
				a license, privilege, right, grant or benefit or whether such should be
				revoked.
Vital Records Jurisdiction
means the
				50 states within the United States, New York City, Washington D.C., Puerto
				Rico, Guam, Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.