Who Will Have Access To The Data?

An open and transparent process for requesting access to data will be established via ATHN’s Privacy and Data Security Committee, chaired by Tami Wood-Lively, JD, MPA an attorney who is the regional coordinator for region V-east and a member of the ATHN Board of Directors.  This committee of ATHN will have oversight with broad representation including consumers to assure that this process protects patient confidentiality and that data is available for meaningful purposes.  For 2007, we are honored that physician and ATHN co-chair Jeanne Lusher, MD, as well as Paul Haas, PhD, immediate past-President of NHF, have agreed to serve as members of this important committee along with a nurse, a consumer with extensive IT experience and a representative of the CDC.  As a new organization, ATHN’s specific written policies related to privacy, data security and access are in the formative stage.  ATHN envisions the data being useful for a wide range of issues: epidemiological, clinical, advocacy, patient safety, etc.  No one has preferential or carte blanche access to data.