§1173.3. Data collection; powers and duties of the Louisiana Department of Health

            The department, through the office of public health and in consultation with the Health Data Panel, shall:

            (1) Identify and define the healthcare cost, quality, and performance data elements to be reported to the department in accordance with existing national and international data standards for facilitating meaningful comparison by consumers of costs for specific healthcare services and specific quality of care measures between and among medical facilities, healthcare providers, and health plans. Such data elements shall include, without limitation, the items specified in Paragraph (9) of this Subsection.

            (2) Develop standards of accuracy, quality, timeliness, economy, and efficiency for the provision of data.

            (3) Identify the most practical methods to collect, transmit, and share required healthcare data as described in this Subpart.

            (4) Utilize, wherever practical, existing administrative data bases, and modalities of data collection to provide the required data.

            (5) Ensure confidentiality of patients by enforcing appropriate rules and regulations at least as stringent as those regulations applicable to covered entities promulgated under HIPAA privacy regulations, 45 CFR Part 164.

            (6) Maintain the computerized database of personal health information of consumers in a secure environment in compliance with federal laws providing for the security of the system containing such data. In the event of a known or suspected data breach, the department shall, within thirty days of the breach, notify each resident of the state whose personal information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person.

            (7) Coordinate with the Louisiana Department of Insurance on all matters of health plan cost, quality, and performance data to be collected from health plans licensed to offer health insurance coverage in Louisiana. Such data shall exclude premium data and information related to the development of premiums.

            (8) Include, when appropriate, risk-adjustment measures into the production of all healthcare cost, quality, and performance data issued to account for variation in facility size, location, and patient acuity levels.

            (9)(a) Provide the process for Internet publication of provider and health plan specific cost, quality, and performance data collected pursuant to this Subpart for access and use by a consumer or requesting entity. At minimum, this data shall include all of the following items:

            (i) Healthcare quality information that is easily understandable by the average consumer and is published in a format that allows the user to compare such information across providers to the extent practicable.

            (ii) Data related to payments for health services rendered by healthcare facilities and practitioners published in an interactive format from which the user can generate reports of such data.

            (iii) Data identifying at least fifteen of the most commonly used diagnosis codes, at least fifteen of the most commonly used procedure codes, and any emerging health trends for diagnosis and treatment related to hospitalization. The department shall publish this data in a format that facilitates comparison of the data from hospitals and other licensed health facilities of this state to similar data for medical care rendered in other states, to the extent that such data is available.

            (iv) A list of the hospitals and other licensed health facilities that are in compliance with the reporting requirements promulgated by the department, and a list of the hospitals and other licensed health facilities that are not in compliance with such requirements.

            (b) The department shall update the information provided for in this Paragraph at least annually.

            (10) Ensure that data released pursuant to this Subpart shall not include any identifier which is listed in 45 CFR 164.514(b) as being necessary to be removed in order for the data to be de-identified within the meaning of 45 CFR 164.514(a).

            (11) Promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, to carry out the provisions of this Subpart.

            Acts 1997, No. 622, §1, eff. July 3, 1997; Acts 2008, No. 537, §1, eff. June 30, 2008; Acts 2014, No. 790, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 40:1300.113 by HCR 84 of 2015 R.S.; Acts 2015, No. 338, §§1, 2; Acts 2018, No. 206, §4.