A Review of Disclosure Limitation Methods Employed by Web-Based Data Query Systems

• Activity Number: 302
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 2, 2011 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Health Policy Statistics
• Author(s): Gregory J. Matthews and Robert H. Aseltine Jr.*+ and Ofer Harel
• Companies: University of Connecticut and University of Connecticut and University of Connecticut
• Keywords: Health Policy ; Public Health ; Statistical Disclosure Control

Abstract

Public health research often requires access to individuals' health information.  Therefore, data collecting organizations, such as state public health and human service agencies, seek to make these data available while preserving individual privacy for legal and ethical reasons.  One common way in which these data are released is through the use of Web-based Data Query Systems (WDQS). An analysis of the disclosure control techniques used in WDQS recognized by the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (www.naphsis.org) shows that many state public health query systems fail to employ any type of statistical disclosure control (SDC) and many that do, do so inadequately. In this presentation we seek to stimulate awareness of the potential for privacy breaches via WDQS and offer concrete guidelines for dealing with this problem preemptively, rather than after a major disclosure takes place.  This research is particularly timely in the context of federal healthcare reform, as the emergence of Health Information Exchanges raise the potential for access to vast amounts of de-identified patient data that must be protected to ensure patient privacy.