Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit. 40, § 1173.5. Release of information

A. To ensure the privacy and protection of Louisianans' health information, the department shall not release confidential or protected health information collected from hospitals and other healthcare providers pursuant to this Subpart. The department shall adhere to and comply fully with appropriate privacy protection protocols that are at least as stringent as the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

B. Notwithstanding Subsection A of this Section, the department may release data collected pursuant to this Subpart for the purpose of conducting healthcare research which is a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. All requests for data collected pursuant to this Subpart shall be submitted to the department and reviewed by the department's Institutional Review Board. The department shall deny any requests for data that it determines will be utilized for business or commercial purposes, including but not limited to market analysis and software development. The department shall have one representative of the provider group whose data is subject to the data release on the Institutional Review Board.

C. Each data request shall state the proposed use of the data requested and include an affirmation by the recipient that no attempt will be made to combine patient-level data provided for in the request with other data to identify patients and that no confidential information shall be released.

D. The department shall inform the Health Data Panel prior to the release of requested data collected pursuant to this Subpart.