[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22837-22839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10572]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DoD.
ACTION: Notice to amend a system of records.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Secretary of Defense proposes to amend a
system of records notice in its inventory of record systems subject to
the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.
DATES: The amendment will be effective on May 28, 1999, unless comments
are received that would result in a contrary determination.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to OSD Privacy Act Coordinator, Records
Management Division, Washington Headquarters Services, 1155 Defense
Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1155.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Bosworth at (703) 588-0159.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of the Secretary of Defense
notices for systems of records subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5
U.S.C. 552a), as amended, have been published in the Federal Register
and are available from the address above.
The proposed amendments are not within the purview of subsection
(r) of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, which would require
the submission of a new or altered system report for each system. The
specific changes to the record system being amended are set forth below
followed by the notice, as amended, published in its entirety.
Dated: April 22, 1999.
L. M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
DHA 08
SYSTEM NAME:
Health Affairs Survey Data Base (April 12, 1999, 64 FR 17627).
Change:
* * * * *
RETRIEVABILITY:
Delete the first paragraph under Annual Beneficiary Survey: and
replace with `1. Beneficiary Records: Records of beneficiaries who have
or have not responded to the survey may be retrieved by patient
identifiers such as name, address, sponsor Social Security Number,
family member prefix code, and demographic categories such as age, sex,
military rank group (officer/enlisted/civilian).'
Delete the first paragraph under Customer Satisfaction Survey: and
replace with '1. Beneficiary Records: Records of beneficiaries who have
been mailed a survey may be retrieved by name and address for purposes
of initiating follow-up contacts to obtain a response to the survey;
but after 90 days, the name and address are permanently deleted so that
the survey respondent cannot be identified.'
* * * * *
DHA 08
SYSTEM NAME:
Health Affairs Survey Data Base.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Primary location: Directorate of Information Management, Fort
Detrick, MD 21702-5020.
Secondary locations: Survey distribution and response tracking
files are located at the contractor facilities.
Survey result data files are located at the Office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs), the Commanders and Intermediate
Commanders of the Services Medical Treatment Facilities, the Surgeons
General of the Military Services and Regional Managers of TRICARE
facilities. The addresses for the secondary locations may be obtained
from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Budgets and
Programs), Five Skyline Place, Suite 810, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Falls
Church, VA 22041-3206.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Annual Beneficiary Survey: Individuals eligible for health care
under Title 10 (including active duty personnel, reserve personnel and
their family members (dependents); retired Armed Forces personnel and
their family members; surviving dependents of deceased active duty and
retired personnel; and certain others including individuals and their
dependents affiliated with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Public Health
Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Customer Satisfaction Survey: Active duty members of the Armed
Forces, civilian personnel, and contract personnel serving as health
care providers for individuals eligible for health care under Title 10
in military medical and dental treatment facilities and other treatment
settings.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Annual Beneficiary Survey: Name, rank, age, gender, race, address,
sponsor Social Security Number and family member prefix code of
individuals who will be surveyed; verification that a survey has been
completed and returned by the individual; and response data from the
completed surveys.
Customer Satisfaction Survey: Medical and dental care provider
name,
[[Page 22838]]
provider type, specialty and rank; medical treatment facility, and
clinic where care was provided; and response data from the completed
surveys.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
5 U.S.C. 301, Departmental Regulations; 10 U.S.C. 138, Assistant
Secretaries of Defense; 10 U.S.C. 1071 (NOTE); 10 U.S.C. Chapter 55;
and E.O. 9397 (SSN).
PURPOSE(S):
Annual Beneficiary Survey: The survey collects information
concerning beneficiary attitudes, perceptions, and opinions about their
individual health and health care (including access to care, health
status, use of care, familiarity with programs and services available,
and satisfaction with care received) in order to assess, plan,
evaluate, and improve quality, efficiency, convenience and cost
effectiveness of health care services. This process includes analyses
of information related to special interest health care subjects,
including health status, in order to validate current and/or forecast
future health care needs or to implement plans in response to new
health care requirements. Retaining beneficiary specifics allows for
individual follow-up to improve response rates; scientific analysis of
the data; and to validate survey responses by comparing responses to
independent sources of data.
Customer Satisfaction Survey: The survey collects information
concerning beneficiary attitudes, perceptions, and opinions about
health care provided during specific visits (including access to care,
quality of care, satisfaction with how care was delivered, satisfaction
with the specific care provider, and satisfaction with care received)
in order to assess, plan, evaluate, and improve quality, efficiency,
convenience and cost effectiveness of health care services. This
process includes analyses of information related to special interest
health care subjects, including health status, in order to validate
current and/or forecast future health care needs or to implement plans
in response to new health care requirements. Specific care provider
information is analyzed in order to alert medical authorities to
potential problem areas where additional educational and corrective
measures may be required in order to improve customer satisfaction.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSE OF SUCH USES:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records may specifically be disclosed
outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as
follows:
The `Blanket Routine Uses' set forth at the beginning of OSD's
compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
Electronic records stored on magnetic and/or optical media.
RETRIEVABILITY:
Annual Beneficiary Survey:
1. Beneficiary Records: Records of beneficiaries who have or have
not responded to the survey may be retrieved by patient identifiers
such as name, address, sponsor Social Security Number, family member
prefix code, and demographic categories such as age, sex, military rank
group (officer/enlisted/civilian).
2. Response Records: Survey data is normally retrieved using
demographic or other non-personalized elements.
3. The beneficiary and response records contain a randomly
generated code which permits the identification of the survey
respondent.
Customer Satisfaction Survey:
1. Beneficiary Records: Records of beneficiaries who have been
mailed a survey may be retrieved by name and address for purposes of
initiating follow-up contacts to obtain a response to the survey; but
after 90 days, the name and address are permanently deleted so that the
survey respondent cannot be identified.
2. Response Records: Records of care providers who furnished care
at a specific facility/clinic may be retrieved only by the facility/
clinic commander by name, rank (if military), provider type (e.g.,
physician, clinical nurse, etc.) and specialty (e.g., pediatrician.
SAFEGUARDS:
Media at the primary location are stored in a locked cage in a
controlled access area when not in use; when maintained at the contract
location, media are stored in cabinets or storage areas when not being
used and are placed in a locked container or space within a building
that is secured after hours. Result data that includes patient or
provider identification is maintained in locked storage cabinets or
locked areas in buildings that are secured after hours. Only authorized
personnel who have received Privacy Act training are permitted access
to information in the system.
Specific instructions are provided MTF commanders on the safeguards
required in handling and maintaining Customer Satisfaction Survey
information.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Hard copy surveys are destroyed after the information contained in
survey responses is entered into a computer system.
Annual Beneficiary Survey: Data files with beneficiary specifics
and results will be retained until an appraisal and schedule is
obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration.
Customer Satisfaction Survey: Data files with results and provider
specifics will be retained until an appraisal and schedule is obtained
from the National Archives and Records Administration.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Budgets and
Programs), Five Skyline Place, Suite 810, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Falls
Church, VA 22041-3206.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
Individuals seeking to determine whether this system contains
information about themselves should address written inquiries to the
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Budgets and Programs)/
Program Review and Evaluation, Five Skyline Place, Suite 810, 5111
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3206.
Annual Beneficiary Survey: A beneficiary should provide full name,
sponsor's Social Security Number, family member prefix, and current
address and telephone number of the individual.
Customer Satisfaction Survey: A health care provider should provide
name, current address, telephone number, and name of the medical
facility and clinic should be supplied.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals seeking access to records about themselves contained in
this system should address written inquiries to the Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense (Health Budgets and Programs), Five Skyline Place,
Suite 810, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3206.
Annual Beneficiary Survey: A beneficiary should provide full name,
sponsor's Social Security Number, family member prefix, and current
address and telephone number of the individual.
Customer Satisfaction Survey: A health care provider should
provide name, current address, telephone number, and name of the
medical facility and clinic should be supplied.
[[Page 22839]]
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
The OSD rules for accessing records and for contesting contents and
appealing initial agency determinations are contained in OSD
Administrative Instruction 81; 32 CFR part 311; or may be obtained from
the system manager.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Sources include Services medical and dental treatment facilities
and facilities contracted by DoD to perform medical care for Military
members, former members and dependents. Survey information is provided
by the individual patient or a parent or guardian of the individual
patient. Demographic information that may be related to the patient is
provided by the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System
(DEERS), the Ambulatory Data System (ADS), and the Composite Health
Care System (CHCS).
EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
[FR Doc. 99-10572 Filed 4-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-10-F
