§ 71-552 — Syndromic surveillance program; development; department set standards for reporting by hospitals; additional powers of department; use, confidentiality, and immunity; failure to make report; grounds for discipline

Nebraska § 71-552

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 71: Public Health and Welfare

Text

(1)
For purposes of protecting the public health and tracking the impact of disease
prevention strategies intended to lower the cost of health care, the Department
of Health and Human Services shall develop a syndromic surveillance program
that respects patient privacy and benefits from advances in both electronic
health records and electronic health information exchange. The syndromic surveillance
program shall include the monitoring, detection, and investigation of public
health threats from (a) intentional or accidental use or misuse of chemical,
biological, radiological, or nuclear agents, (b) clusters or outbreaks of
infectious or communicable diseases, and (c) noninfectious causes of illness.
(2) The department shall
adopt and promulgate rules and regulations setting standards for syndromic
surveillance reporting by hospitals. The standards shall specify (a) the syndromic
surveillance data elements required to be reported for all encounters, which
shall include at a minimum the date of the encounter and the patient's gender,
date of birth, chief complaint or reason for encounter, home zip code, unique
record identifier, and discharge diagnoses and (b) the manner of reporting.
(3) The department may
require, by rule and regulation, syndromic surveillance reporting by other
health care facilities or any person issued a credential by the department.
(4) The department shall
establish, by rule and regulation, a schedule for the implementation of full
electronic reporting of all syndromic surveillance data elements. The schedule
shall take into consideration the number of data elements already reported
by the facility or person, the capacity of the facility or person to electronically
report the remaining elements, the funding available for implementation, and
other relevant factors, including improved efficiencies and resulting benefits
to the reporting facility or person.
(5) The use, confidentiality, and immunity provisions
of section 71-503.01 apply to syndromic surveillance data reports.
(6) Failure to provide
a report under this section or the rules and regulations is grounds for discipline
of a credential issued by the department.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 2011, LB591, § 1.