Privacy

We respect your privacy and make every effort to keep your clinic visit private and your personal health information confidential. We follow regulations regarding the confidentiality medical records and maintain any information we receive about you in a secure and professional manner.

Information may be disclosed to us as the Public Health Agency from laboratories, physicians, local registrars, hospitals, and other professionals as required by law in the areas of communicable disease, inspections, public health preparedness and related activities necessary for local health departments to fulfill their mission as a governmental unit.

The Appalachian District Health Department is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities for protecting the public’s health. The statistical information collected by the health department is necessary to track the spread of disease in our local population, determine the leading causes of death, investigate disease sources, and to obtain information in order to develop actions for prevention and treatment. Local providers help us keep our community members safe and by working together, we ensure the public’s health is maintained.

The rules pertaining to the Division of Public Health and the Appalachian District Health Department providing both the requirement for the reporting and protection of personal health information include: Public Law 104-191 (HIPAA) and all records containing individually identifiable health information remain confidential as mandated by North Carolina General Statures. (NC General Statues 130A-12, 130A-93, 130A-131,130-143, 130A-212,130A-374,130A-441,130A-460, 131E-214, 132.1, 143B-139)

Public Reporting under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Federal HIPAA regulation recognizes the need to balance public responsibility and patient privacy and includes specific language and provisions that permit certain disclosures without requiring individual authorization. The HIPAA Privacy rule, effective April, 2003 allows for the following permitted disclosures without an individuals authorization:

  • Disclosures required by law
  • Disclosures to public health authorities that are authorized by law to collect such information to aid them in their mission to protect the health of the public
  • Disclosures to health oversight agencies for oversight activities authorized by law.
  • Public Health reporting mandated by law has not been changed by HIPAA.

This reporting is required.




Privacy Statment in English
Privacy Statment in Spanish