42 U.S.C. § 295k — Health professions data

(a) In general. The Secretary must create a program, including one uniform system for collecting, compiling, and analyzing data on health workers. At first, this must cover all physicians and dentists in the states. The Secretary can expand the program to cover other workers too — pharmacists, optometrists, podiatrists, veterinarians, public health staff, audiologists, speech pathologists, health administrators, nurses, allied health workers, medical technologists, chiropractors, clinical psychologists, professional counselors, and any other health workers the Secretary picks for states the Secretary designates. The data must include training, license status (permanent, temporary, partial, limited, or institutional), where they practice, professional specialty, practice details, place and date of birth, sex, socioeconomic background, and any other demographic details the Secretary requires. (b) Certain authorities and requirements. (1) Sources of information. The Secretary must collect available data from appropriate local, state, and federal agencies and other appropriate sources. (2) Contracts for studies of health professions. The Secretary must conduct or contract for studies of the health professions — evaluating and projecting supply and need by specialty and location. These studies must include, by specialty and location, how many health workers (including allied health and health administration workers) belong to minority groups, including Hispanics, and must project the supply of and need for health workers to serve minority groups, including Hispanics. (3) Grants and contracts regarding States. The Secretary can give grants or make contracts with states (or a qualified nonprofit within a state) so they can take part in the program set up under (a). The Secretary decides the amount and scope. To qualify, a state or entity must submit an application as the Secretary requires, and give reasonable assurance that: (A) it will set up mandatory annual registration for the health workers described in (a) who live or practice there, and for health facilities it licenses; (B) it will collect this information and report it to the Secretary as required; and (C) it will follow the personal-data rules in (e). (d) Reports to Congress. The Secretary must send Congress two reports on October 1, 1993, and every two years after that: (1) a full report on the status of health workers by profession, including the studies done under this section; and (2) a full report on applicants to, and students in, health-training programs, including their debt, need for financial help, available resources, career choices (like specialty and location), and any link between debt and career choice. (e) Requirements regarding personal data. (1) In general. When securing or keeping individually identifiable personal data, the Secretary and each "program entity" must: (A) tell anyone asked for personal data whether they're legally required to give it or may refuse, and explain any known consequences either way; (B) on request, tell a person if data about them is held, and show it to them in an understandable form; (C) make sure personal data isn't used for anything outside this section's purposes unless the person gave informed consent; and (D) on request, tell a person how their data is being used and who is using it. (2) Consent as precondition to disclosure. An entity holding personal data can't transfer it to the Secretary or a program entity unless the person it's about gives informed consent. (3) Disclosure by Secretary. (A) Personal data collected under this section can't be given to anyone but the person it's about, unless that person needs it for this section's purposes, or a court demands it through compulsory legal process — in which case the person must be told about the demand. (B) Subject to confidentiality laws, only the data collected that is not personal data can be given to genuine researchers and policy analysts, including Congress, to help study the health professions. (4) "Program entity" defined. A "program entity" is any public or private group that collects, compiles, or analyzes health professions data under a grant, contract, or other arrangement with the Secretary under this section. (g) Technical assistance. The Secretary must help states and their political subdivisions build systems — including model laws — for keeping this data confidential and comparable. (h) Grants and contracts regarding nonprofit entities. (1) In general. To carry out (a), the Secretary may give grants, make contracts and cooperative agreements, and provide technical help to a nonprofit entity, to build a uniform data reporting system for allied health professions personnel. (2) Reports. Any report required under (d) made on or after October 1, 1991, must also describe and analyze the data collected under (1).