Sec. 27-109a. Veterans' health registry. Disclosure of registry information.
Sec. 27-109a. Veterans' health registry. Disclosure of registry information. (a)
The Department of Veterans' Affairs may establish and maintain, within available resources, a registry of data on members of the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103,
who have completed a period of active service. The department may develop surveys for
members or their health care providers to voluntarily provide data during or after such
active service. The surveys and data shall be collected and maintained in accordance
with the requirements of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-191) (HIPAA), as amended from time to time, or regulations
adopted thereunder.
(b) The surveys and data shall be related to members' illnesses and potential correlations to environmental hazards, including, but not limited to, vaccinations, infections,
chemicals, pesticides, microwaves, depleted uranium, pyridostigmine bromide, and
chemical and biological warfare agents. Within available resources, the department may
use the data in the registry to (1) study the potential short-term and long-term effects
of such hazards on such members, and (2) inform, customize and coordinate the provision of health care services to such members.
(c) No individually identifiable health information may be released by the department without the consent of the member to whom the information pertains in accordance
with the requirements of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-191) (HIPAA), as amended from time to time, or regulations
adopted thereunder.
(d) The surveys and data in the registry shall be subject to disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, except that no individually
identifiable health information may be disclosed.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2, S. 46.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2 effective July 1, 2008.