Washington Administrative Code
Title 246 - Health, Department of
HEALTH INFORMATION
Chapter 246-492
Section 246-492-010 - Definitions

(1) "Analytic services" means a service provided by the department that includes working with vital records data in order to disseminate requested information to customers. This service includes, but is not limited to, data analysis for calculating and providing specific counts, rates, and other statistics; building and distributing aggregate reports; linkage of data; and producing record level data files and subsets of data files for customers.

(2) "Custom data request" means a specialized vital records data request or data file created and released by the department. Custom data request does not mean standard data file.

(3) "Data" means a data file containing multiple records.

(4) "Department" means the department of health.

(5) "Direct identifier" means a single data element that identifies an individual person.

(6) "Fetal death" means any product of conception that shows no evidence of life, such as breathing, beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles after complete expulsion or extraction from the individual who gave birth that is not an induced termination of pregnancy and:

(7) "General data inquiry request" means a request for information that can be answered with use of vital records data, but without the need for extensive investigation, analysis, report building or data file production.

(8) "Government agencies" includes state boards, commissions, committees, departments, educational institutions, or other state agencies which are created by or pursuant to statute, other than courts and the legislature; county or city agencies, United States federal agencies, and federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations.

(9) "Human research review board" is a standing institutional review board operating under chapter 42.48 RCW.

(10) "Indirect identifier" means a single data element that on its own does not identify an individual person, but when combined with other indirect identifiers can be used to identify an individual person.

(11) "Individual" means a natural person.

(12) "Infant death" means a death of a child under one year of age.

(13) "Public health purpose" means a purpose that seeks to support or evaluate public health activities, which include, but are not limited to, health surveillance; identifying population health trends; health assessments; implementing educational programs; program evaluation; developing and implementing policies; determining needs for access to services and administering services; creating emergency response plans; promoting healthy lifestyles; and preventing, detecting, and responding to infectious diseases, injury, and chronic and inheritable conditions. Public health purpose does not include research as defined in this section.

(14) "Research" means a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Activities that meet this definition constitute research for purposes of this policy, whether or not they are conducted or supported under a program that is considered research for other purposes.

(15) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department of health.

(16) "Standard data file" means routine statewide vital records data created and released by the department. Standard data file does not mean specialized custom data requests and data files.

(17) "State" means Washington state unless otherwise specified.

(18) "State registrar" means the person appointed by the secretary to administer the vital records system under RCW 70.58A.030.

(19) "Vital record" or "record" means a report of a vital life event that has been registered and supporting documentation.

(20) "Vital statistics" means the aggregated data derived from vital records, including related reports, and supporting documentation.