Section 44-61-670 - Duties of department; confidentiality of health care information(A) The department, in consultation with the Stroke System of Care Advisory Council, shall: (1) provide assistance for sharing information and data among health care providers on ways to improve the quality of care;(2) facilitate the communication and analysis of health information and data among health care professionals providing care for individuals with stroke;(3) collect data regarding the transition of care to community-based follow-up care in hospital outpatient, physician office, and ambulatory clinic settings for ongoing care after hospital discharge following acute treatment for a stroke;(4) set expectations for hospitals and emergency medical services agencies to report data on the treatment of individuals with suspected stroke within the statewide system of stroke care; and(5) establish a Stroke Registry Task Force, as a subcommittee of the Stroke System of Care Advisory Council, which shall maintain a statewide stroke registry database that compiles information and statistics on stroke care that align with the stroke consensus metrics developed and approved by the American Heart Association, American Stroke Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Joint Commission. The department shall utilize the stroke registry data platform of "Get With The Guidelines-Stroke" or another nationally recognized data set platform with confidentiality standards no less secure. To every extent possible, the department shall coordinate with national voluntary health organizations involved in stroke quality improvement to avoid duplication and redundancy.(6) The Stroke Registry Task Force shall:(a) analyze data generated by the statewide stroke registry database on stroke care;(b) identify potential interventions to improve stroke care in geographic areas or regions of the State; and(c) provide recommendations to the department and the General Assembly for the improvement of stroke care in the State.(B) Except to the extent necessary to address continuity of care issues, health care information must not be provided in a format that contains individually identifiable information about a patient. The sharing of health care information containing individually identifiable information about patients must be limited to that information necessary to address continuity of care issues, and otherwise must be in accordance with, and subject to, the confidentiality provisions required by applicable state and federal law, including, but not limited to, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and regulations pursuant to that act.Added by 2011 S.C. Acts, Act No. 62 (SB 588), s 1, eff. 6/21/2011.