Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 6975-6979 [2021-01516]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 14 / Monday, January 25, 2021 / Notices
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
[FR Doc. 2021–01542 Filed 1–22–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
Privacy Act of 1974; System of
Records
Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA), Veterans Health Administration
(VHA).
ACTION: Notice of a Modified System of
Records.
AGENCY:
As required by the Privacy
Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a(e), notice is
hereby given that the Department of
Veteran Affairs (VA) is amending the
system of records currently entitled
‘‘Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record
(VLER)–VA’’ (168VA10P2) as set forth
in the Federal Register 77 FR 27859. VA
is amending the system of records by
revising the System Name; System
Number; System Location; System
Manager; Purpose; Categories of
Individuals Covered by the System;
Category of Records in the System;
Records Source Category; Routine Uses
of Records Maintained in the System;
Policies and Practices for Storage of
Records; Policies and Practices for
Retrievability of Records; Policies and
Practices for Retention and Disposal of
Records; Administrative, Technical, and
Physical Safeguards; and Record Access
Procedure. VA is republishing the
system notice in its entirety.
DATES: Comments on the amendment of
this system of records must be received
no later than February 24, 2021. If no
public comment is received during the
period allowed for comment or unless
otherwise published in the Federal
Register by VA, the amended system
will become effective February 24, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be
submitted through
www.Regulations.gov; by mail or handdelivery to Director, Regulation Policy
and Management (00REG), Department
of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave.
NW, Room 1064, Washington, DC
20420; or by fax to (202) 273–9026 (not
a toll-free number). Comments should
indicate that they are submitted in
response to Health Information
Exchange (HIE)–VA. Copies of
comments received will be available for
public inspection in the Office of
Regulation Policy and Management,
Room 1063B, between the hours of 8:00
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday (except holidays). Please call
(202) 461–4902 for an appointment.
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SUMMARY:
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(This is not a toll-free number.) In
addition, comments may be viewed
online at www.Regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Office of Information and Technology
(OI&T), Privacy Officer, Department of
Veterans Affairs, 1100 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20420, telephone (202)
632–7524. (This is not a toll-free
number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
System Name is being changed from
‘‘Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record
(VLER)–VA’’ to ‘‘Health Information
Exchange–VA’’.
The System Number is changed from
168VA10P2 to 168VA005 to reflect the
current departmental alignment.
The System Location is being
amended to add Philadelphia
Information Technology Center, 3900
Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
19104; Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Government Cloud (GovCloud), 410
Terry Ave North, Seattle, WA 98109 and
the Cerner Technology Centers (CTC):
Primary Data Center in Kansas City, MO
and Continuity of Operations/Disaster
Recovery (COOP/DR) Data Center in
Lees Summit, MO.
The System Manager is being
amended to replace Director Standards
and Interoperability, Chief Health
Informatics Office/Office of Informatics
and Analytics/Veterans Health
Information with Chief Technology &
Integration Officer Veterans Affairs
Office of Electronic Health Record
Modernization at 811 Vermont Avenue
Office 5084 Washington, DC 20420.
The Purpose is being amended to
remove VLER/Nationwide Health
Information Network (NwHIN) partners.
Being added is information stored in VA
computer systems, such as the Data
Access Service (DAS) and VA
contracted computer systems which are
used for benefit and claims adjudication
as well as data for VA Data Sharing and
Interoperability Initiatives with VA
partners. These partners include, but are
not limited to, Veteran Health
Information Exchange (VHIE) external
partners, The Sequoia Project, eHealth
Exchange partners, Direct Partners,
Carequality, CommonWell, VAapproved third party payers and
contracted providers, educational
affiliates, Veteran Service Organizations
(VSOs), VA AppCatalog Mobile
applications, federal agencies (to
include Indian Health Service, Bureau
of Prisons, Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), Social Security Administration
(SSA), Department of Defense (DoD),
Health and Human Services, and
others), and State Registries. This
section adds ‘‘for health care operations
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6975
and reimbursement for care provided’’
as purposes of the data.
The Categories of Individuals Covered
by the System is being amended to
remove caveat of VA employees who
access information through VLER to
state ‘‘VA employees’’ and add VA
contractors. In addition, other VA
patients, VA contracted and private
providers and payers, VA contracted
Health Information Handlers, VSO staff,
and VA system integrators who resolve
information technology (IT) trouble
tickets, DoD providers, educational
affiliate staff with approved VA access.
The Categories of Records in the
System is being amended to add
scanned & imported paper records &
non-radiology images, Service
Treatment Record (STR) (and
transformed DAS STR), Community
Health Summaries—DoD,
Questionnaires and Deployment
Assessments (Armed Forces Health
Longitudinal Technology Application
(AHLTA) only), Contact Logs, Diet,
Patient Mood and Immunizations as
examples under patient demographic
and health information from external
health care providers and VHIE external
partners; and opt-out forms, participate
in sharing after opting out forms and
future forms developed for VHIE as
examples under information on
Veterans’ preferences regarding the
sharing of their health information. This
section will add information on health
information exchange and Direct users,
claims adjudication information,
research records, education information
and device or patient created data.
The Records Source Category is being
amended to replace 79VA19 with
79VA10A7, 121VA19 with 121VA10A7,
and 24VA19 with 24VA10A7. Federal
and non-federal VLER/NwHIN partners
and DoD is being removed and replaced
with VHIE external partners. This
section will add eHealth Exchange
partners, Carequality and CommonWell,
Direct Messaging providers, non-VA
care providers, patient or individual
device generated data through a VA
AppCatalog Mobile application,
homeless shelters, government agencies
such as DoD, SSA, IRS, Health and
Human Services, Bureau of Prisons,
Indian Health Services and others, and
State Registries.
The Routine Uses of Records
Maintained in the System has been
amended by amending the language in
Routine Use #6 which states that
disclosure of the records to the
Department of Justice (DoJ) is a use of
the information contained in the records
that is compatible with the purpose for
which VA collected the records. VA
may disclose records in this system of
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records in legal proceedings before a
court or administrative body after
determining that the disclosure of the
records to the court or administrative
body is a use of the information
contained in the records that is
compatible with the purpose for which
VA collected the records. This routine
use will now state that release of the
records to the DoJ is limited to
circumstances where relevant and
necessary to the litigation. VA may
disclose records in this system of
records in legal proceedings before a
court or administrative body after
determining that release of the records
to the court or administrative body is
limited to circumstances where relevant
and necessary to the litigation.
Routine use #15 is being added to
state, ‘‘Disclosure of Veteran identifiers
and demographic information (e.g.,
name, SSN, address, date of birth) may
be made to an organization with whom
VA has a documented partnership,
arrangement or agreement (e.g., Health
Information Exchange (HIE), Health
Information Service Provider (HISP)
Direct, CommonWell Health Alliance
network), for the purpose of identifying
and correlating patients.’’ VA needs this
ability to share demographic
information for correlation and
identification purposes.
Routine use #16 is being added to
state, ‘‘VA may disclose information
from this system to another Federal
agency or Federal entity, when VA
determines that information from this
system of records is reasonably
necessary to assist the recipient agency
or entity in (1) responding to a
suspected or confirmed breach or (2)
preventing, minimizing, or remedying
the risk of harm to individuals, the
recipient agency or entity (including its
information systems, programs, and
operations), the Federal Government, or
national security, resulting from a
suspected or confirmed breach.’’ VA
needs this routine use for the data
breach response and remedial efforts
with another Federal agency.
Routine use #17 is being added to
state, To disclose to the Federal Labor
Relations Authority (including its
General Counsel) information related to
the establishment of jurisdiction, the
investigation and resolution of
allegations of unfair labor practices, or
information in connection with the
resolution of exceptions to arbitration
awards when a question of material fact
is raised; to disclose information in
matters properly before the Federal
Services Impasses Panel, and to
investigate representation petitions and
conduct or supervise representation
elections. VA must be able to provide
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information to FLRA to comply with the
statutory mandate under which it
operates.
Policies and Practices for Storage of
Records is being amended to remove
storage area network (SAN) and mobile
devices and add electronic storage
media including, but not limited to,
magnetic tape, disk, laser optical media
and solid-state flash media.
The Retrievability section is being
amended to add electronic data
interchange personal identifier (EDIPI),
medical record number, problem list,
geographic location and other
demographic, medical or medication
information.
Policies and Practices for Retention
and Disposal is being amended to
replace ‘in accordance with the records
disposition authority approved by the
Archivist of the United States, health
information stored on electronic media
storage is maintained for seventy-five
(75) years after the last episode of
patient care and then deleted’ with GRS
4.3 Items 020, 030, 031 and Electronic
Health Records schedule, National
Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) job #N1–15–02–3, item 1a, 1b,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
The Administrative, Technical and
Physical Safeguards section is being
amended to add, ‘‘Access to Cerner
Technology Centers is generally
restricted to Cerner employees,
contractors or associates with a Cerner
issued ID badge and other security
personnel cleared for access to the data
center. Access to computer rooms
housing Federal data, hence Federal
enclave, is restricted to persons
Federally cleared for Federal enclave
access through electronic badge entry
devices. All other persons, such as
custodians, gaining access to Federal
enclave are escorted.’’
Records Access Procedure is being
amended to replace Director Standards
and Interoperability, Chief Health
Informatics Office/Office of Informatics
and Analytics/Veterans Health
Information, with Director, VHIE, Office
of Health Informatics/Veterans Health
Administration and to add ‘‘or contact
their closest VA Medical Center
(VAMC)’’. Being added to this section is
that requests should contain the full
name, address and telephone number of
the individual making the inquiry.
The Report of Intent to Amend a
System of Records Notice and an
advance copy of the system notice have
been sent to the appropriate
Congressional committees and to the
Director of Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) as required by 5 U.S.C.
552a(r) (Privacy Act) and guidelines
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issued by OMB (65 FR 77677),
December 12, 2000.
Signing Authority
The Senior Agency Official for
Privacy, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the
undersigned to sign and submit the
document to the Office of the Federal
Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department
of Veterans Affairs. James P. Gfrerer,
Assistant Secretary of Information and
Technology and Chief Information
Officer, approved this document on July
24, 2020 for publication.
Dated: January 19, 2021.
Amy L. Rose,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office
of Information Security, Office of Information
and Technology, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
SYSTEM NAME:
‘‘Health Information Exchange–VA’’
(168VA005).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
None.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Records are maintained at Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA), Austin
Information Technology Center (AITC),
1615 Woodward Street, Austin, TX
78772, Philadelphia Information
Technology Center (PITC), 3900
Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
19104; Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Government Cloud (GovCloud), 410
Terry Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98109;
and Cerner Technology Centers (CTC):
Primary Data Center in Kansas City, MO
and Continuity of Operations/Disaster
Recovery (COOP/DR) Data Center in
Lees Summit, MO.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Official maintaining this system of
records and responsible for policies and
procedures is Chief Technology &
Integration Officer Veterans Affairs,
Office of Electronic Health Record
Modernization at 811 Vermont Avenue
Office 5084 Washington, DC 20420.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Title 38, United States Code, Section
501.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The records and information stored in
VA computer systems, including the
Data Access Service (DAS) and VA
contracted systems, such as Cerner
products, may be used for the ongoing
communication of current healthcare,
benefit and claims adjudication data, for
VA Data Sharing and interoperability
initiatives with VA partners. These
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partners include, but are not limited to,
Veteran Health Information Exchange
(VHIE) external partners, The Sequoia
Project and eHealth Exchange partners,
Direct Partners, Carequality,
CommonWell, VA-approved third party
payers and contracted providers,
educational affiliates, Veteran Service
Organizations (VSOs), VA AppCatalog
Mobile applications, State Registries
and federal agencies (to include Indian
Health Service, Bureau of Prisons, IRS,
DoD, Health and Human Services, and
others). This data is used to promote
improved quality of patient care, reduce
duplicative ordering of tests, services
and pharmaceuticals; for statistical
analysis to produce various
management, workload tracking, and
follow-up reports; to track the ordering
and delivery of equipment, services and
patient care; for the planning,
distribution and utilization of resources;
to monitor the performance of Veterans
Integrated Service Networks (VISN); to
allocate clinical and administrative
support to patient to include but not
limited to Healthcare treatment,
disability adjudication, and benefits,
and for health care operations and
reimbursement for care provided.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE
SYSTEM:
The records contain information on
Veterans and the family members or
caregivers; members of the armed
services, Reserves or National Guard,
other VA patients, VA employees and
contractors, VA contracted and private
providers and payers, VA contracted
Health Information Handlers, VSO staff,
DoD providers, education affiliate staff
with approved VA access, and VA
system integrators who resolve
information technology (IT) trouble
tickets.
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CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
The records may include patient
demographic information (e.g.,
electronic data interchange personal
identifier (EDIPI), name, address, phone
numbers, date of birth, social security
number); patient demographic and
health information from external health
care providers and VHIE external
partners, e.g., medications, allergies,
consultations and referrals, history and
physicals, discharge summaries,
diagnostic studies, procedures notes,
advanced directives, problem lists,
laboratory results, lists of procedures
and encounters, scanned & imported
paper records & non-radiology images,
Service Treatment Records (STR) (and
transformed DAS STR), Community
Health Summaries—DoD,
Questionnaires and Deployment
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Assessments (Armed Forces Health
Longitudinal Technology Application
[AHLTA] only), Contact Logs, Diet,
Patient Mood, and immunizations,
benefits information (e.g., disability
rating, service connection rating),
information on Veterans’ preferences
regarding the sharing of their health
information (e.g., authorizations,
restriction requests, revocation of
authorizations, opt-out forms,
participate in sharing after opting out
forms and future forms developed for
VHIE, information on VHIE and Direct
users, claims adjudication information,
research records and education
information, as well as device- or
patient-created data relating to the
above.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information in this system of records
is provided by Veterans and their family
members or caregivers, members of the
Armed Services, Reserves or National
Guard, other VA patients, VA
employees and contractors, VA
computer systems, Veterans Health
Information Systems and Technology
Architecture (VistA)-VA (79VA10A7),
National Patient Databases-VA
(121VA10A7), Patient Medical Record—
VA (24VA10A7), VA contracted
computer systems, HIE external
partners, Direct Messaging providers,
non-VA care providers, VA AppCatalog
Mobile application, homeless shelters,
State Registries, and government
agencies such as DoD, SSA, IRS, Health
and Human Services, Bureau of Prisons,
Indian Health Services and others.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE
SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND
PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
To the extent that records contained
in the system include information
protected by 45 CFR parts 160 and 164,
i.e., individually identifiable health
information, and 38 U.S.C. 7332, i.e.,
medical treatment information related to
drug abuse, alcoholism or alcohol abuse,
sickle cell anemia, or infection with the
human immunodeficiency virus, that
information cannot be disclosed under a
routine use unless there is also specific
statutory authority in 38 U.S.C. 7332
and regulatory authority in 45 CFR parts
160 and 164 permitting disclosure.
1. VA may disclose any information
in this system, except the names and
home addresses of Veterans and their
dependents, which is relevant to a
suspected or reasonably imminent
violation of law, whether civil, criminal
or regulatory in nature and whether
arising by general or program statute or
by regulation, rule or order issued
pursuant thereto, to a Federal, State,
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6977
local, tribal, or foreign agency charged
with the responsibility of investigating
or prosecuting such violation, or
charged with enforcing or implementing
the statute, regulation, rule or order. VA
may also disclose the names and
addresses of Veterans and their
dependents to a Federal agency charged
with the responsibility of investigating
or prosecuting civil, criminal or
regulatory violations of law, or charged
with enforcing or implementing the
statute, regulation, rule or order issued
pursuant thereto.
2. Disclosure may be made to any
source from which additional
information is requested (to the extent
necessary to identify the individual,
inform the source of the purpose(s) of
the request, and to identify the type of
information requested), when necessary
to obtain information relevant to an
individual’s eligibility, care history, or
other benefits.
3. Disclosure of information to a
health participant for the purpose of
providing care or treatment to VA
patients, reimbursement for health care
services, or determining eligibility for
government disability benefits.
4. The record of an individual who is
covered by a system of records may be
disclosed to a Member of Congress, or
a staff person acting for the Member,
when the Member or staff person
requests the record on behalf of and at
the written request of the individual.
5. Disclosure may be made to NARA
and the General Services
Administration (GSA) in records
management inspections conducted
under authority of Title 44, Chapter 29,
of the United States Code (U.S.C.).
6. VA may disclose information in
this system of records to the Department
of Justice (DoJ), either on VA’s initiative
or in response to DoJ’s request for the
information, after either VA or DoJ
determines that such information is
relevant to DoJ’s representation of the
United States or any of its components
in legal proceedings before a court or
adjudicative body, provided that, in
each case, the agency also determines
prior to disclosure that release of the
records to the DoJ is limited to
circumstances where relevant and
necessary to the litigation. VA may
disclose records in this system of
records in legal proceedings before a
court or administrative body after
determining that release of the records
to the court or administrative body is
limited to circumstances where relevant
and necessary to the litigation.
7. Disclosure may be made to a
national certifying body which has the
authority to make decisions concerning
the issuance, retention or revocation of
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licenses, certifications or registrations
required to practice a health care
profession, when requested in writing
by an investigator or supervisory official
of the national certifying body for the
purpose of making a decision
concerning the issuance, retention or
revocation of the license, certification or
registration of a named health care
professional.
8. VA may disclose information to
officials of the Merit Systems Protection
Board MSPB), or the Office of Special
Counsel, when requested in connection
with appeals, special studies of the civil
service and other merit systems, review
of rules and regulations, investigation of
alleged or possible prohibited personnel
practices, and such other functions,
promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 1206,
or as authorized by law.
9. VA may disclose information to the
Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission when requested in
connection with investigations of
alleged or possible discriminatory
practices, examination of Federal
affirmative employment programs, or for
other functions of the Commission as
authorized by law or regulation.
10. VA may disclose to the Fair Labor
Relations Authority (FLRA) (including
its General Counsel) information related
to the establishment of jurisdiction, the
investigation and resolution of
allegations of unfair labor practices, or
information in connection with the
resolution of exceptions to arbitration
awards when a question of material fact
is raised; to disclose information in
matters properly before the Federal
Services Impasse Panel, and to
investigate representation petitions and
conduct or supervise representation
elections.
11. Disclosures of relevant
information may be made to
individuals, organizations, private or
public agencies, or other entities with
whom VA has a contract or agreement
or where there is a subcontract to
perform the services as VA may deem
practicable for the purposes of laws
administered by VA, in order for the
contractor or subcontractor to perform
the services of the contract or
agreement.
12. Disclosure to other Federal
agencies may be made to assist such
agencies in preventing and detecting
possible fraud or abuse by individuals
in their operations and programs.
13. VA may disclose any information
or records to appropriate agencies,
entities, and persons when (1) VA
suspects or has confirmed that the
integrity or confidentiality of
information in the system of records has
been compromised; (2) the Department
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has determined that as a result of the
suspected or confirmed compromise
there is a risk of embarrassment or harm
to the reputations of the record subjects,
harm to economic or property interests,
identity theft or fraud, or harm to the
security, confidentiality, or integrity of
this system or other systems or
programs (whether maintained by the
Department or another agency or entity)
that rely upon the potentially
compromised information; and (3) the
disclosure is to agencies, entities, or
persons whom VA determines are
reasonably necessary to assist or carry
out the Department’s efforts to respond
to the suspected or confirmed
compromise and prevent, minimize, or
remedy such harm.
14. VA may disclose information from
this system to a Federal agency for the
purpose of conducting research and data
analysis to perform a statutory purpose
of that Federal agency upon the prior
written request of that agency, provided
that there is legal authority under all
applicable confidentiality statutes and
regulations to provide the data and VA
has determined prior to the disclosure
that the VA data handling requirements
are satisfied.
15. Disclosure of Veteran identifiers
and demographic information (e.g.,
name, SSN, address, date of birth) may
be made to an organization with whom
VA has a documented partnership,
arrangement or agreement (e.g., Health
Information Exchange (HIE), Health
Information Service Provider (HISP)
Direct, CommonWell Health Alliance
network), for the purpose of identifying
and correlating patients.
16. VA may disclose information from
this system to another Federal agency or
Federal entity, when VA determines
that information from this system of
records is reasonably necessary to assist
the recipient agency or entity in (1)
responding to a suspected or confirmed
breach or (2) preventing, minimizing, or
remedying the risk of harm to
individuals, the recipient agency or
entity (including its information
systems, programs, and operations), the
Federal Government, or national
security, resulting from a suspected or
confirmed breach.
17. To disclose to the Federal Labor
Relations Authority (including its
General Counsel) information related to
the establishment of jurisdiction, the
investigation and resolution of
allegations of unfair labor practices, or
information in connection with the
resolution of exceptions to arbitration
awards when a question of material fact
is raised; to disclose information in
matters properly before the Federal
Services Impasses Panel, and to
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investigate representation petitions and
conduct or supervise representation
elections.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF
RECORDS:
Records are maintained on electronic
storage media including, but not limited
to, magnetic tape, disk, laser optical
media and solid-state flash media.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF
RECORDS:
Records are retrieved by electronic
data interchange personal identifier
(EDIPI), problem list, geographic
location and other demographic,
medical or medication information,
name, social security number or other
assigned identifiers of the individuals
on whom they are maintained. For
reporting purposes records can also be
retrieved by Internal Control Number
(ICN).
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND
DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
GRS 4.3 Items 020, 030, 031 and
Electronic Health Records schedule,
NARA job #N1–15–02–3, item 1a, 1b, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL
SAFEGUARDS:
1. Access to and use of national
administrative databases, warehouses,
and data marts are limited to those
persons whose official duties require
such access, and the VA implements
Federal Information Security
Management Act mandated security
protocols or, when appropriate, has
established security procedures to
ensure that access is appropriately
limited. Information security officers
and system data stewards review and
authorize data access requests. VA
regulates data access with security
software that authenticates users and
requires individually unique codes and
passwords. VA provides information
security training to all staff and instructs
staff on the responsibility each person
has for safeguarding data
confidentiality.
2. Physical access to computer rooms
housing national administrative
databases, warehouses, and data marts
is restricted to authorized staff and
protected by a variety of security
devices. Unauthorized employees,
contractors, and other staff are not
allowed in computer rooms. The
Federal Protective Service or other
security personnel provide physical
security for the buildings housing
computer rooms and data centers.
3. Data transmissions between
operational systems and national
administrative databases, warehouses,
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and data marts maintained by this
system of record are protected by stateof-the-art telecommunication software
and hardware. This may include
firewalls, intrusion detection devices,
encryption, and other security measures
necessary to safeguard data as it travels
across the VA Wide Area Network.
4. In most cases, copies of back-up
computer files are maintained at off-site
locations.
5. Access to Cerner Technology
Centers is generally restricted to Cerner
employees, contractors or associates
with a Cerner issued ID badge and other
security personnel cleared for access to
the data center. Access to computer
rooms housing Federal data, hence
Federal enclave, is restricted to persons
Federally cleared for Federal enclave
access through electronic badge entry
devices. All other persons, such as
custodians, gaining access to Federal
enclave are escorted.
6. The AWS GovCloud infrastructure
as a service cloud-computing
environment has been authorized at the
high-impact level under the Federal
Risk and Authorization Management
Program (FedRAMP). The secure site-tosite encrypted network connection is
limited to access via the VA trusted
internet connection (TIC).
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals seeking information
regarding access to and contesting of
records in this system may write the
Director, VHIE, Office of Health
Informatics/Veterans Health
Administration at VACO, 810 Vermont
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, or
contact their closest VAMC. Requests
should contain the full name, address
and telephone number of the individual
making the inquiry.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
(See Record Access Procedures
above.)
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Individuals who wish to determine
whether this system of records contains
information about them should contact
their closest VAMC. Inquiries should
include the person’s full name, social
security number, location and dates of
treatment or location and dates of
employment and their return address.
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
Last full publication provided in 77
FR 27859 dated May 11, 2012.
[FR Doc. 2021–01516 Filed 1–22–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:31 Jan 22, 2021
Jkt 253001
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
Privacy Act of 1974; System of
Records
Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA), Veterans Health Administration
(VHA).
ACTION: Notice of a new system of
records.
AGENCY:
The Privacy Act of 1974
requires that all agencies publish in the
Federal Register a notice of the
existence and character of their systems
of records. Notice is hereby given that
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
is establishing a new system of records
entitled, ‘‘Community Care (CC)
Provider Profile Management System
(PPMS)–VA’’ (186VA10D).
DATES: Comments on this new system of
records must be received no later than
30 days after date of publication in the
Federal Register. If no public comment
is received during the period allowed
for comment or unless otherwise
published in the Federal Register by
VA, the new system of records will
become effective a minimum of 30 days
after date of publication in the Federal
Register. If VA receives public
comments, VA shall review the
comments to determine whether any
changes to the notice are necessary.
ADDRESSES: Written comments
concerning the new system of records
may be submitted by: Mail or handdelivery to Director, Regulations
Management (00REG), Department of
Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue
NW, Room 1068, Washington, DC
20420; fax to (202) 273–9026; or Email
to https://www.Regulations.gov.
Comments should indicate that they are
submitted in response to ‘‘Community
Care Provider Profile Management
System (PPMS)–VA’’ (186VA10D). All
comments received will be available for
public inspection in the Office of
Regulation Policy and Management,
Room 1063B, between the hours of 8:00
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday (except holidays). Please call
(202) 461–4902 (this is not a toll-free
number) for an appointment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: CC
Program Manager Office of Information
and Technology (OIT), Enterprise
Portfolio Management Division (EPMD),
St. Petersburg Field Office, 9500 Bay
Pines Boulevard, St. Petersburg, Florida
33708, Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1437,
St. Petersburg, Florida 33708; telephone
at (727) 230–9032 (this is not a toll-free
number). VHA Office of Community
Care, P.O. Box 469066, Denver,
Colorado 80246.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00118
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
6979
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Description of Proposed Systems of
Records
The Community Care (CC) Provider
Profile Management System (PPMS) is
focused on the implementation and
maintenance of a provider directory to
be used by the multiple VA portfolios in
maintaining the Community Care
Network (CCN), TriWest PatientCentered Community Care (PC3) and
Choice Program, Individual Care
Agreements, Veteran Care Agreements,
VA Medical Center (VAMC) Local
Contracts, Indian Health Service
Providers, Department of Defense
facilities, and VAMC providers.
II. Proposed Routine Use Disclosures of
Data in the System
We are proposing to establish the
following Routine Use disclosures of
information maintained in the system.
PPMS will collect and retain personally
identifiable information on non-VA
health care providers. VA Provider
publically available data is retained in
the system, no personally identifiable
information is collected on VA
providers. These providers will be
conducting health services with VA.
1. VA may disclose information from
the record of an individual in response
to an inquiry from the congressional
office made at the request of that
individual. VA must be able to provide
information about individuals to
adequately respond to inquiries from
Members of Congress at the request of
constituents who have sought their
assistance.
2. VA may disclose any information
or records to appropriate agencies,
entities, and persons when (1) VA
suspects or has confirmed that there has
been a breach of the system of records;
(2) VA has determined that as a result
of the suspected or confirmed breach
there is a risk to individuals, VA
(including its information systems,
programs, and operations), the Federal
Government, or national security; and
(3) the disclosure made to such
agencies, entities, or persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in
connection with VA efforts to respond
to the suspected or confirmed breach or
to prevent, minimize, or remedy such
harm.
3. VA may disclose information in
this system of records to the Department
of Justice (DoJ), either on VA’s initiative
or in response to DoJ’s request for the
information, after either VA or DoJ
determines that such information is
relevant to DoJ’s representation of the
United States or any of its components
in legal proceedings before a court or
E:\FR\FM\25JAN1.SGM
25JAN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 14 (Monday, January 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6975-6979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01516]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health
Administration (VHA).
ACTION: Notice of a Modified System of Records.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a(e),
notice is hereby given that the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is
amending the system of records currently entitled ``Virtual Lifetime
Electronic Record (VLER)-VA'' (168VA10P2) as set forth in the Federal
Register 77 FR 27859. VA is amending the system of records by revising
the System Name; System Number; System Location; System Manager;
Purpose; Categories of Individuals Covered by the System; Category of
Records in the System; Records Source Category; Routine Uses of Records
Maintained in the System; Policies and Practices for Storage of
Records; Policies and Practices for Retrievability of Records; Policies
and Practices for Retention and Disposal of Records; Administrative,
Technical, and Physical Safeguards; and Record Access Procedure. VA is
republishing the system notice in its entirety.
DATES: Comments on the amendment of this system of records must be
received no later than February 24, 2021. If no public comment is
received during the period allowed for comment or unless otherwise
published in the Federal Register by VA, the amended system will become
effective February 24, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through
www.Regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to Director, Regulation
Policy and Management (00REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810
Vermont Ave. NW, Room 1064, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202)
273-9026 (not a toll-free number). Comments should indicate that they
are submitted in response to Health Information Exchange (HIE)-VA.
Copies of comments received will be available for public inspection in
the Office of Regulation Policy and Management, Room 1063B, between the
hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except
holidays). Please call (202) 461-4902 for an appointment. (This is not
a toll-free number.) In addition, comments may be viewed online at
www.Regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Information and Technology
(OI&T), Privacy Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1100 First
Street NE, Washington, DC 20420, telephone (202) 632-7524. (This is not
a toll-free number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The System Name is being changed from
``Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER)-VA'' to ``Health
Information Exchange-VA''.
The System Number is changed from 168VA10P2 to 168VA005 to reflect
the current departmental alignment.
The System Location is being amended to add Philadelphia
Information Technology Center, 3900 Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
19104; Amazon Web Services (AWS) Government Cloud (GovCloud), 410 Terry
Ave North, Seattle, WA 98109 and the Cerner Technology Centers (CTC):
Primary Data Center in Kansas City, MO and Continuity of Operations/
Disaster Recovery (COOP/DR) Data Center in Lees Summit, MO.
The System Manager is being amended to replace Director Standards
and Interoperability, Chief Health Informatics Office/Office of
Informatics and Analytics/Veterans Health Information with Chief
Technology & Integration Officer Veterans Affairs Office of Electronic
Health Record Modernization at 811 Vermont Avenue Office 5084
Washington, DC 20420.
The Purpose is being amended to remove VLER/Nationwide Health
Information Network (NwHIN) partners. Being added is information stored
in VA computer systems, such as the Data Access Service (DAS) and VA
contracted computer systems which are used for benefit and claims
adjudication as well as data for VA Data Sharing and Interoperability
Initiatives with VA partners. These partners include, but are not
limited to, Veteran Health Information Exchange (VHIE) external
partners, The Sequoia Project, eHealth Exchange partners, Direct
Partners, Carequality, CommonWell, VA-approved third party payers and
contracted providers, educational affiliates, Veteran Service
Organizations (VSOs), VA AppCatalog Mobile applications, federal
agencies (to include Indian Health Service, Bureau of Prisons, Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security Administration (SSA), Department
of Defense (DoD), Health and Human Services, and others), and State
Registries. This section adds ``for health care operations and
reimbursement for care provided'' as purposes of the data.
The Categories of Individuals Covered by the System is being
amended to remove caveat of VA employees who access information through
VLER to state ``VA employees'' and add VA contractors. In addition,
other VA patients, VA contracted and private providers and payers, VA
contracted Health Information Handlers, VSO staff, and VA system
integrators who resolve information technology (IT) trouble tickets,
DoD providers, educational affiliate staff with approved VA access.
The Categories of Records in the System is being amended to add
scanned & imported paper records & non-radiology images, Service
Treatment Record (STR) (and transformed DAS STR), Community Health
Summaries--DoD, Questionnaires and Deployment Assessments (Armed Forces
Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA) only), Contact Logs,
Diet, Patient Mood and Immunizations as examples under patient
demographic and health information from external health care providers
and VHIE external partners; and opt-out forms, participate in sharing
after opting out forms and future forms developed for VHIE as examples
under information on Veterans' preferences regarding the sharing of
their health information. This section will add information on health
information exchange and Direct users, claims adjudication information,
research records, education information and device or patient created
data.
The Records Source Category is being amended to replace 79VA19 with
79VA10A7, 121VA19 with 121VA10A7, and 24VA19 with 24VA10A7. Federal and
non-federal VLER/NwHIN partners and DoD is being removed and replaced
with VHIE external partners. This section will add eHealth Exchange
partners, Carequality and CommonWell, Direct Messaging providers, non-
VA care providers, patient or individual device generated data through
a VA AppCatalog Mobile application, homeless shelters, government
agencies such as DoD, SSA, IRS, Health and Human Services, Bureau of
Prisons, Indian Health Services and others, and State Registries.
The Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System has been
amended by amending the language in Routine Use #6 which states that
disclosure of the records to the Department of Justice (DoJ) is a use
of the information contained in the records that is compatible with the
purpose for which VA collected the records. VA may disclose records in
this system of
[[Page 6976]]
records in legal proceedings before a court or administrative body
after determining that the disclosure of the records to the court or
administrative body is a use of the information contained in the
records that is compatible with the purpose for which VA collected the
records. This routine use will now state that release of the records to
the DoJ is limited to circumstances where relevant and necessary to the
litigation. VA may disclose records in this system of records in legal
proceedings before a court or administrative body after determining
that release of the records to the court or administrative body is
limited to circumstances where relevant and necessary to the
litigation.
Routine use #15 is being added to state, ``Disclosure of Veteran
identifiers and demographic information (e.g., name, SSN, address, date
of birth) may be made to an organization with whom VA has a documented
partnership, arrangement or agreement (e.g., Health Information
Exchange (HIE), Health Information Service Provider (HISP) Direct,
CommonWell Health Alliance network), for the purpose of identifying and
correlating patients.'' VA needs this ability to share demographic
information for correlation and identification purposes.
Routine use #16 is being added to state, ``VA may disclose
information from this system to another Federal agency or Federal
entity, when VA determines that information from this system of records
is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (1)
responding to a suspected or confirmed breach or (2) preventing,
minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient
agency or entity (including its information systems, programs, and
operations), the Federal Government, or national security, resulting
from a suspected or confirmed breach.'' VA needs this routine use for
the data breach response and remedial efforts with another Federal
agency.
Routine use #17 is being added to state, To disclose to the Federal
Labor Relations Authority (including its General Counsel) information
related to the establishment of jurisdiction, the investigation and
resolution of allegations of unfair labor practices, or information in
connection with the resolution of exceptions to arbitration awards when
a question of material fact is raised; to disclose information in
matters properly before the Federal Services Impasses Panel, and to
investigate representation petitions and conduct or supervise
representation elections. VA must be able to provide information to
FLRA to comply with the statutory mandate under which it operates.
Policies and Practices for Storage of Records is being amended to
remove storage area network (SAN) and mobile devices and add electronic
storage media including, but not limited to, magnetic tape, disk, laser
optical media and solid-state flash media.
The Retrievability section is being amended to add electronic data
interchange personal identifier (EDIPI), medical record number, problem
list, geographic location and other demographic, medical or medication
information.
Policies and Practices for Retention and Disposal is being amended
to replace `in accordance with the records disposition authority
approved by the Archivist of the United States, health information
stored on electronic media storage is maintained for seventy-five (75)
years after the last episode of patient care and then deleted' with GRS
4.3 Items 020, 030, 031 and Electronic Health Records schedule,
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) job #N1-15-02-3,
item 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
The Administrative, Technical and Physical Safeguards section is
being amended to add, ``Access to Cerner Technology Centers is
generally restricted to Cerner employees, contractors or associates
with a Cerner issued ID badge and other security personnel cleared for
access to the data center. Access to computer rooms housing Federal
data, hence Federal enclave, is restricted to persons Federally cleared
for Federal enclave access through electronic badge entry devices. All
other persons, such as custodians, gaining access to Federal enclave
are escorted.''
Records Access Procedure is being amended to replace Director
Standards and Interoperability, Chief Health Informatics Office/Office
of Informatics and Analytics/Veterans Health Information, with
Director, VHIE, Office of Health Informatics/Veterans Health
Administration and to add ``or contact their closest VA Medical Center
(VAMC)''. Being added to this section is that requests should contain
the full name, address and telephone number of the individual making
the inquiry.
The Report of Intent to Amend a System of Records Notice and an
advance copy of the system notice have been sent to the appropriate
Congressional committees and to the Director of Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) (Privacy Act) and
guidelines issued by OMB (65 FR 77677), December 12, 2000.
Signing Authority
The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. James P.
Gfrerer, Assistant Secretary of Information and Technology and Chief
Information Officer, approved this document on July 24, 2020 for
publication.
Dated: January 19, 2021.
Amy L. Rose,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office of Information Security,
Office of Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs.
SYSTEM NAME:
``Health Information Exchange-VA'' (168VA005).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
None.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Records are maintained at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA),
Austin Information Technology Center (AITC), 1615 Woodward Street,
Austin, TX 78772, Philadelphia Information Technology Center (PITC),
3900 Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104; Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Government Cloud (GovCloud), 410 Terry Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98109;
and Cerner Technology Centers (CTC): Primary Data Center in Kansas
City, MO and Continuity of Operations/Disaster Recovery (COOP/DR) Data
Center in Lees Summit, MO.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Official maintaining this system of records and responsible for
policies and procedures is Chief Technology & Integration Officer
Veterans Affairs, Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization at
811 Vermont Avenue Office 5084 Washington, DC 20420.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Title 38, United States Code, Section 501.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The records and information stored in VA computer systems,
including the Data Access Service (DAS) and VA contracted systems, such
as Cerner products, may be used for the ongoing communication of
current healthcare, benefit and claims adjudication data, for VA Data
Sharing and interoperability initiatives with VA partners. These
[[Page 6977]]
partners include, but are not limited to, Veteran Health Information
Exchange (VHIE) external partners, The Sequoia Project and eHealth
Exchange partners, Direct Partners, Carequality, CommonWell, VA-
approved third party payers and contracted providers, educational
affiliates, Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs), VA AppCatalog Mobile
applications, State Registries and federal agencies (to include Indian
Health Service, Bureau of Prisons, IRS, DoD, Health and Human Services,
and others). This data is used to promote improved quality of patient
care, reduce duplicative ordering of tests, services and
pharmaceuticals; for statistical analysis to produce various
management, workload tracking, and follow-up reports; to track the
ordering and delivery of equipment, services and patient care; for the
planning, distribution and utilization of resources; to monitor the
performance of Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN); to allocate
clinical and administrative support to patient to include but not
limited to Healthcare treatment, disability adjudication, and benefits,
and for health care operations and reimbursement for care provided.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
The records contain information on Veterans and the family members
or caregivers; members of the armed services, Reserves or National
Guard, other VA patients, VA employees and contractors, VA contracted
and private providers and payers, VA contracted Health Information
Handlers, VSO staff, DoD providers, education affiliate staff with
approved VA access, and VA system integrators who resolve information
technology (IT) trouble tickets.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
The records may include patient demographic information (e.g.,
electronic data interchange personal identifier (EDIPI), name, address,
phone numbers, date of birth, social security number); patient
demographic and health information from external health care providers
and VHIE external partners, e.g., medications, allergies, consultations
and referrals, history and physicals, discharge summaries, diagnostic
studies, procedures notes, advanced directives, problem lists,
laboratory results, lists of procedures and encounters, scanned &
imported paper records & non-radiology images, Service Treatment
Records (STR) (and transformed DAS STR), Community Health Summaries--
DoD, Questionnaires and Deployment Assessments (Armed Forces Health
Longitudinal Technology Application [AHLTA] only), Contact Logs, Diet,
Patient Mood, and immunizations, benefits information (e.g., disability
rating, service connection rating), information on Veterans'
preferences regarding the sharing of their health information (e.g.,
authorizations, restriction requests, revocation of authorizations,
opt-out forms, participate in sharing after opting out forms and future
forms developed for VHIE, information on VHIE and Direct users, claims
adjudication information, research records and education information,
as well as device- or patient-created data relating to the above.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information in this system of records is provided by Veterans and
their family members or caregivers, members of the Armed Services,
Reserves or National Guard, other VA patients, VA employees and
contractors, VA computer systems, Veterans Health Information Systems
and Technology Architecture (VistA)-VA (79VA10A7), National Patient
Databases-VA (121VA10A7), Patient Medical Record--VA (24VA10A7), VA
contracted computer systems, HIE external partners, Direct Messaging
providers, non-VA care providers, VA AppCatalog Mobile application,
homeless shelters, State Registries, and government agencies such as
DoD, SSA, IRS, Health and Human Services, Bureau of Prisons, Indian
Health Services and others.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
To the extent that records contained in the system include
information protected by 45 CFR parts 160 and 164, i.e., individually
identifiable health information, and 38 U.S.C. 7332, i.e., medical
treatment information related to drug abuse, alcoholism or alcohol
abuse, sickle cell anemia, or infection with the human immunodeficiency
virus, that information cannot be disclosed under a routine use unless
there is also specific statutory authority in 38 U.S.C. 7332 and
regulatory authority in 45 CFR parts 160 and 164 permitting disclosure.
1. VA may disclose any information in this system, except the names
and home addresses of Veterans and their dependents, which is relevant
to a suspected or reasonably imminent violation of law, whether civil,
criminal or regulatory in nature and whether arising by general or
program statute or by regulation, rule or order issued pursuant
thereto, to a Federal, State, local, tribal, or foreign agency charged
with the responsibility of investigating or prosecuting such violation,
or charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, regulation, rule
or order. VA may also disclose the names and addresses of Veterans and
their dependents to a Federal agency charged with the responsibility of
investigating or prosecuting civil, criminal or regulatory violations
of law, or charged with enforcing or implementing the statute,
regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto.
2. Disclosure may be made to any source from which additional
information is requested (to the extent necessary to identify the
individual, inform the source of the purpose(s) of the request, and to
identify the type of information requested), when necessary to obtain
information relevant to an individual's eligibility, care history, or
other benefits.
3. Disclosure of information to a health participant for the
purpose of providing care or treatment to VA patients, reimbursement
for health care services, or determining eligibility for government
disability benefits.
4. The record of an individual who is covered by a system of
records may be disclosed to a Member of Congress, or a staff person
acting for the Member, when the Member or staff person requests the
record on behalf of and at the written request of the individual.
5. Disclosure may be made to NARA and the General Services
Administration (GSA) in records management inspections conducted under
authority of Title 44, Chapter 29, of the United States Code (U.S.C.).
6. VA may disclose information in this system of records to the
Department of Justice (DoJ), either on VA's initiative or in response
to DoJ's request for the information, after either VA or DoJ determines
that such information is relevant to DoJ's representation of the United
States or any of its components in legal proceedings before a court or
adjudicative body, provided that, in each case, the agency also
determines prior to disclosure that release of the records to the DoJ
is limited to circumstances where relevant and necessary to the
litigation. VA may disclose records in this system of records in legal
proceedings before a court or administrative body after determining
that release of the records to the court or administrative body is
limited to circumstances where relevant and necessary to the
litigation.
7. Disclosure may be made to a national certifying body which has
the authority to make decisions concerning the issuance, retention or
revocation of
[[Page 6978]]
licenses, certifications or registrations required to practice a health
care profession, when requested in writing by an investigator or
supervisory official of the national certifying body for the purpose of
making a decision concerning the issuance, retention or revocation of
the license, certification or registration of a named health care
professional.
8. VA may disclose information to officials of the Merit Systems
Protection Board MSPB), or the Office of Special Counsel, when
requested in connection with appeals, special studies of the civil
service and other merit systems, review of rules and regulations,
investigation of alleged or possible prohibited personnel practices,
and such other functions, promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 1206, or as
authorized by law.
9. VA may disclose information to the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission when requested in connection with investigations of alleged
or possible discriminatory practices, examination of Federal
affirmative employment programs, or for other functions of the
Commission as authorized by law or regulation.
10. VA may disclose to the Fair Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)
(including its General Counsel) information related to the
establishment of jurisdiction, the investigation and resolution of
allegations of unfair labor practices, or information in connection
with the resolution of exceptions to arbitration awards when a question
of material fact is raised; to disclose information in matters properly
before the Federal Services Impasse Panel, and to investigate
representation petitions and conduct or supervise representation
elections.
11. Disclosures of relevant information may be made to individuals,
organizations, private or public agencies, or other entities with whom
VA has a contract or agreement or where there is a subcontract to
perform the services as VA may deem practicable for the purposes of
laws administered by VA, in order for the contractor or subcontractor
to perform the services of the contract or agreement.
12. Disclosure to other Federal agencies may be made to assist such
agencies in preventing and detecting possible fraud or abuse by
individuals in their operations and programs.
13. VA may disclose any information or records to appropriate
agencies, entities, and persons when (1) VA suspects or has confirmed
that the integrity or confidentiality of information in the system of
records has been compromised; (2) the Department has determined that as
a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise there is a risk of
embarrassment or harm to the reputations of the record subjects, harm
to economic or property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to
the security, confidentiality, or integrity of this system or other
systems or programs (whether maintained by the Department or another
agency or entity) that rely upon the potentially compromised
information; and (3) the disclosure is to agencies, entities, or
persons whom VA determines are reasonably necessary to assist or carry
out the Department's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed
compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
14. VA may disclose information from this system to a Federal
agency for the purpose of conducting research and data analysis to
perform a statutory purpose of that Federal agency upon the prior
written request of that agency, provided that there is legal authority
under all applicable confidentiality statutes and regulations to
provide the data and VA has determined prior to the disclosure that the
VA data handling requirements are satisfied.
15. Disclosure of Veteran identifiers and demographic information
(e.g., name, SSN, address, date of birth) may be made to an
organization with whom VA has a documented partnership, arrangement or
agreement (e.g., Health Information Exchange (HIE), Health Information
Service Provider (HISP) Direct, CommonWell Health Alliance network),
for the purpose of identifying and correlating patients.
16. VA may disclose information from this system to another Federal
agency or Federal entity, when VA determines that information from this
system of records is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient
agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected or confirmed breach
or (2) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to
individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information
systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national
security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.
17. To disclose to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (including
its General Counsel) information related to the establishment of
jurisdiction, the investigation and resolution of allegations of unfair
labor practices, or information in connection with the resolution of
exceptions to arbitration awards when a question of material fact is
raised; to disclose information in matters properly before the Federal
Services Impasses Panel, and to investigate representation petitions
and conduct or supervise representation elections.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
Records are maintained on electronic storage media including, but
not limited to, magnetic tape, disk, laser optical media and solid-
state flash media.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Records are retrieved by electronic data interchange personal
identifier (EDIPI), problem list, geographic location and other
demographic, medical or medication information, name, social security
number or other assigned identifiers of the individuals on whom they
are maintained. For reporting purposes records can also be retrieved by
Internal Control Number (ICN).
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
GRS 4.3 Items 020, 030, 031 and Electronic Health Records schedule,
NARA job #N1-15-02-3, item 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
1. Access to and use of national administrative databases,
warehouses, and data marts are limited to those persons whose official
duties require such access, and the VA implements Federal Information
Security Management Act mandated security protocols or, when
appropriate, has established security procedures to ensure that access
is appropriately limited. Information security officers and system data
stewards review and authorize data access requests. VA regulates data
access with security software that authenticates users and requires
individually unique codes and passwords. VA provides information
security training to all staff and instructs staff on the
responsibility each person has for safeguarding data confidentiality.
2. Physical access to computer rooms housing national
administrative databases, warehouses, and data marts is restricted to
authorized staff and protected by a variety of security devices.
Unauthorized employees, contractors, and other staff are not allowed in
computer rooms. The Federal Protective Service or other security
personnel provide physical security for the buildings housing computer
rooms and data centers.
3. Data transmissions between operational systems and national
administrative databases, warehouses,
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and data marts maintained by this system of record are protected by
state-of-the-art telecommunication software and hardware. This may
include firewalls, intrusion detection devices, encryption, and other
security measures necessary to safeguard data as it travels across the
VA Wide Area Network.
4. In most cases, copies of back-up computer files are maintained
at off-site locations.
5. Access to Cerner Technology Centers is generally restricted to
Cerner employees, contractors or associates with a Cerner issued ID
badge and other security personnel cleared for access to the data
center. Access to computer rooms housing Federal data, hence Federal
enclave, is restricted to persons Federally cleared for Federal enclave
access through electronic badge entry devices. All other persons, such
as custodians, gaining access to Federal enclave are escorted.
6. The AWS GovCloud infrastructure as a service cloud-computing
environment has been authorized at the high-impact level under the
Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The secure
site-to-site encrypted network connection is limited to access via the
VA trusted internet connection (TIC).
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals seeking information regarding access to and contesting
of records in this system may write the Director, VHIE, Office of
Health Informatics/Veterans Health Administration at VACO, 810 Vermont
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, or contact their closest VAMC.
Requests should contain the full name, address and telephone number of
the individual making the inquiry.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
(See Record Access Procedures above.)
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Individuals who wish to determine whether this system of records
contains information about them should contact their closest VAMC.
Inquiries should include the person's full name, social security
number, location and dates of treatment or location and dates of
employment and their return address.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
Last full publication provided in 77 FR 27859 dated May 11, 2012.
[FR Doc. 2021-01516 Filed 1-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P