Applying the new HIPAA Exemption: Are you in or out?

Tags:

13 May

No comments

For investigators, IRB members, and IRB staff alike, the revised Common Rule’s new exempt category at 45 CFR 46.104(d)(4)(iii) was a dream come true. The so-called HIPAA Exemption eliminates IRB review for research use of retrospectively or prospectively collected “identifiable health information when that use is regulated by the HIPAA Privacy Rule as health care operations, research, or for public health activities […].” Applying the HIPAA Exemption is not quite as simple as it might seem, though, as I learned at the 2018 Advancing Ethical Research Conference (AER18) session, appropriately titled “Just When You Thought You Understood the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.” Read more

14
Feb2019

Minding the (db)GaP: Age of Majority and the NIH’s GDS Policy

Tags:

14 Feb

No comments

The 2018 Advancing Ethical Research Conference (AER18) was my second PRIM&R conference, and this year I came armed with questions for specific organizations and agencies. At the top of my list was a question regarding the 2015 NIH Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy: When children’s data is submitted to a national genomic data sharing repository, such as the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP), what are the consent expectations when those subjects reach the age of majority? Read more

4
Dec2018

PRIM&R comments on NIH’s proposed provisions for data management and sharing policies

Tags:

4 Dec

Comments: 1

On October 10, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a Request for Information (RFI) from the public on Proposed Provisions for a Draft Data Management and Sharing Policy for NIH Funded or Supported Research. According to the NIH, it will take into account the feedback received as it develops a draft of a new NIH policy for data management and sharing. That draft will also be open for public comment, at a future date. Comments on this first stage of policymaking, the proposed provisions, are due December 10, 2018. Read more

The potential benefits of data sharing for secondary research purposes are well recognized, but certain ethical barriers must be addressed before these benefits can be fully realized. American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals and tribes that participate in research are often interested in sharing their data when doing so will help answer important questions or contribute to improved population health outcomes, and when appropriate protections are in place. While perspectives on data sharing agreements and processes can vary among AI/AN individuals and tribes, some views are consistent and much can be learned by examining how specific studies have navigated data sharing in ways that both respect tribal sovereignty and meet the overall study goals. What best practices, lessons, and examples exist for IRBs, researchers, and funders who wish to include a data sharing component in research with AI/AN individuals and tribes? Read more