2014 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 4 - Management of State Agencies
Chapter 48 - Organization of State Agencies
Section 4-60i - Commissioner of Social Services to develop uniform information, terminology, technology standards and regulations. Implementation and revision of health information technology plan. Establishment of electronic data standards.

(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall (1) develop, throughout the Departments of Developmental Services, Public Health, Correction, Children and Families and Mental Health and Addiction Services, uniform management information, uniform statistical information, uniform terminology for similar facilities, uniform electronic health information technology standards and uniform regulations for the licensing of human services facilities, (2) plan for increased participation of the private sector in the delivery of human services, (3) provide direction and coordination to federally funded programs in the human services agencies and recommend uniform system improvements and reallocation of physical resources and designation of a single responsibility across human services agencies lines to eliminate duplication.

(b) The Commissioner of Social Services shall, in consultation with the Departments of Public Health and Mental Health and Addiction Services, implement and periodically revise the state-wide health information technology plan established pursuant to section 19a-25d and shall establish electronic data standards to facilitate the development of integrated electronic health information systems, as defined in subsection (a) of section 19a-25d, for use by health care providers and institutions that receive state funding. Such electronic data standards shall: (1) Include provisions relating to security, privacy, data content, structures and format, vocabulary and transmission protocols; (2) limit the use and dissemination of an individual’s Social Security number and require the encryption of any Social Security number provided by an individual; (3) require privacy standards no less stringent than the “Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information” established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, P.L. 104-191, as amended from time to time, and contained in 45 CFR 160, 164; (4) require that individually identifiable health information be secure and that access to such information be traceable by an electronic audit trail; (5) be compatible with any national data standards in order to allow for interstate interoperability, as defined in subsection (a) of section 19a-25d; (6) permit the collection of health information in a standard electronic format, as defined in subsection (a) of section 19a-25d; and (7) be compatible with the requirements for an electronic health information system, as defined in subsection (a) of section 19a-25d.

(P.A. 73-155, S. 3, 10; P.A. 75-638, S. 17, 23; P.A. 76-434, S. 8, 12; P.A. 77-511, S. 3; 77-614, S. 323, 521, 526, 587, 609, 610; P.A. 78-303, S. 119, 136; P.A. 86-279, S. 2; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-262, S. 29, 87; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 11, 12, 21, 58; P.A. 07-73, S. 2(a); P.A. 14-217, S. 173.)

History: P.A. 75-638 changed office of mental retardation to department of mental retardation; P.A. 76-434 gave council power to recommend system improvements, reallocation of physical resources and single responsibility for human services agencies; P.A. 77-511 and P.A. 77-614 repealed section but P.A. 78-303 deleted provision calling for section’s repeal and changes called for in P.A. 77-614 were enacted, i.e. department of health became department of health services, department of social services became department of human resources, commissioner of human resources replaced council and references to vocational rehabilitation division of the state department of education and to department of community affairs were deleted, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 86-279 deleted requirement that commissioner of human resources coordinate planning functions and resource utilization programs of certain agencies; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-262 replaced commissioner of human resources with commissioner of social services and removed reference to department on aging, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; (Revisor’s note: In 1995 the Revisors substituted editorially the numeric indicators (1), (2) and (3) for the alphabetic indicators (a), (b) and (c) for consistency with statutory usage); P.A. 95-257 replaced Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Department of Public Health and replaced Department of Mental Health with Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; pursuant to P.A. 07-73 “Department of Mental Retardation” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Developmental Services”, effective October 1, 2007; P.A. 14-217 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a), amended redesignated Subsec. (a)(1) by adding “uniform electronic health information technology standards” and added Subsec. (b) re health information technology plan and electronic data standards, effective July 1, 2014.