Chapter 4715-19 | Accessing Confidential Personal Information

Rule 4715-19-01 | Personal information systems.

• Effective: October 5, 2010
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

(A) The executive director of the board shall be directly responsible for the personal information system maintained by the board.

(B) The board shall discipline any employee who initiates or otherwise contributes to any disciplinary or other punitive action taken against another individual who brings to the attention of the appropriate authorities, the press, or a member of the public, any evidence of unauthorized use of any material contained in the personal information system.

(C) The board shall maintain its personal information system with the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness necessary to assure fairness in any determination made by the board that is based on information contained in the system.

(D) The board shall investigate, upon request, the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness of the personal information which is disputed by the subject of a record contained in its personal information system and report its findings to the disputant within thirty days after receipt of the request.

(E) The board shall not place personal information into an interconnected or combined system unless said system contributes to the efficiency of other agencies or organizations authorized by law to use the system.

(F) The board shall not use any personal information placed into an interconnected or combined system by another state or local board or an organization unless the personal information is necessary and relevant to the performance of a lawful function of the board.

Last updated September 8, 2023 at 2:50 PM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 119.03, 1347.15
Amplifies: 1347.15
Five Year Review Date: 10/1/2026
Prior Effective Dates: 4/4/2002

Rule 4715-19-02 | Procedures for accessing personal information.

• Effective: September 12, 2016
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

(A) Personal information systems of the board are managed on a "need-to-know" basis whereby the information owner determines the level of access required for an employee of the board to fulfill his or her job duties. The determination of access to confidential personal information shall be approved by the employee's supervisor and the information owner prior to providing the employee with access to confidential personal information within a personal information system. The board shall establish procedures for determining a revision to an employee's access to confidential personal information upon a change to that employee's job duties including, but not limited to, transfer or termination. Whenever an employee's job duties no longer require access to confidential personal information in a personal information system, the employee's access to confidential personal information shall be removed.

(B) Upon the signed written request of any individual for a list of confidential personal information about the individual maintained by the board, the board shall do all of the following:

(1) Verify the identity of the individual by a method that provides safeguards commensurate with the risk associated with the confidential personal information;

(2) Provide to the individual the list of confidential personal information that does not relate to an investigation about the individual or is otherwise not excluded from the scope of Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code; and

(3) If all information relates to an investigation about that individual, inform the individual that the board has no confidential personal information about the individual that is responsive to the individual's request.

(C) Upon discovery or notification that confidential personal information of a person has been accessed by an employee for an invalid reason, the board shall notify the person whose information was invalidly accessed as soon as practical and to the extent known at the time. However, the board shall delay notification for a period of time necessary to ensure that the notification would neither delay or impede an investigation of the circumstances and involvement of an employee surrounding the invalid access, nor jeopardize homeland or national security. Additionally, the board may delay the notification consistent with any measures necessary to determine the scope of the invalid access, including which individuals' confidential personal information invalidly was accessed, and to restore the reasonable integrity of the system. Once the board determines that notification would not delay or impede an investigation, the board shall disclose the access to confidential personal information made for an invalid reason to the person. Notification provided by the board shall inform the person of the type of confidential personal information accessed and the date(s) of the invalid access, and may be made by any method reasonably designed to accurately inform the person of the invalid access, including written, electronic, or telephone notice.

(D) The board executive director shall designate an employee of the board to serve as the data privacy point of contact. The data privacy point of contact shall work with the chief privacy officer within the office of information technology to assist the board with both implementation of privacy protections for the confidential personal information that the board maintains and compliance with section 1347.15 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted pursuant to the authority provided by that chapter.

(E) The board executive director shall designate an employee of the board to serve as the data privacy point of contact who shall timely complete the privacy impact assessment form developed by the office of information technology.

Last updated September 8, 2023 at 2:50 PM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 1347.15
Amplifies: 1347.15
Five Year Review Date: 10/1/2026
Prior Effective Dates: 10/5/2010

Rule 4715-19-03 | Valid reasons for accessing confidential personal information.

• Effective: October 5, 2010
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

(A) Pursuant to the requirements of division (B)(2) of section 1347.15 of the Revised Code, this rule contains a list of valid reasons, directly related to the board's exercise of its powers or duties, for which only employees of the board may access confidential personal information (CPI) regardless of whether the personal information is a manual system or computer system.

(B) Any of the following functions normally performed by the board constitute valid reasons for authorized employees of the board to access confidential personal information:

(1) Responding to a public records request;

(2) Responding to a request from an individual for the list of CPI the board maintains on that individual;

(3) Administering a constitutional provision or duty;

(4) Administering a statutory provision or duty;

(5) Administering an administrative rule provision or duty;

(6) Complying with any state or federal program requirements;

(7) Processing or payment of claims or otherwise administering a program with individual participants or beneficiaries;

(8) Auditing purposes;

(9) Licensure [or permit, eligibility, filing, etc.] processes;

(10) Investigation or law enforcement purposes;

(11) Administrative hearings;

(12) Litigation, complying with an order of the court, or subpoena;

(13) Human resource matters (e.g., hiring, promotion, demotion, discharge, salary/compensation issues, leave requests/issues, time card approvals,/issues);

(14) Complying with an executive order or policy;

(15) Complying with a board policy or a state administrative policy issued by the department of administrative services, the office of budget and management or other similar state board; or

(16) Complying with a collective bargaining agreement provision.

(C) In addition to the general processes described in paragraph (A) of this rule, in the following specific processes of the board, authorized board employees would have valid reasons for accessing CPI:

(1) Investigators, attorneys, and staff may review CPI of individuals who are subject to investigation for alleged midconduct which may result in discipline against a dentist, dental hygienist or dental assistant. These same employees may review CPI of individuals who are not the subject of the investigation, but may be witnesses with information related to the investigation. CPI may also be reviewed by these employees and members of the board in professional conduct matters which become the subject of adminstrative hearings.

(2) Board employees may review CPI of persons who hold or are applying for any license, limited license, permit, certificate or registration.

Last updated September 8, 2023 at 2:50 PM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 119.03, 1347.15
Amplifies: 1347.15
Five Year Review Date: 10/1/2026

Rule 4715-19-04 | Confidential information.

• Effective: September 12, 2016
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

The following federal statutes or regulations or state statutes make personal information maintained by the board confidential and identify the confidential personal information within the scope of rules promulgated by this board in accordance with section 1347.15 of the Revised Code.

(A) Social security numbers: 5 U.S.C. 552a., unless the individual was told that the number would be disclosed.

(B) "Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Information" criminal records check results: section 4776.04 of the Revised Code.

(C) Medical records: section 149.43 of the Revised Code and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Title II 45 CFR 160, 42 USC 1320.

(D) College transcripts: Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, 34 CFR Part 99.

(E) Records excluded by the Ohio Public Records Act: section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(F) Confidential information obtained during an investigation pursuant to section 4715.30 of the Revised Code.

(G) Confidential information obtained via the "Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS).

Last updated September 8, 2023 at 2:50 PM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 1347.15
Amplifies: 1347.15
Five Year Review Date: 10/1/2026
Prior Effective Dates: 10/5/2010

Rule 4715-19-05 | Restricting and logging access to confidential personal information in computerized personal information systems.

• Effective: October 5, 2010
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

(A) Access to confidential personal information that is kept electronically shall require a password or other authentication measure.

(B) When the board acquires a new computer system that stores, manages or contains confidential personal information, the board shall include a mechanism for recording specific access by employees of the board to confidential personal information in the system.

(C) When the board modifies an existing computer system that stores, manages or contains confidential personal information, the board shall make a determination whether the modification constitutes an upgrade. Any upgrades to a computer system shall include a mechanism for recording specific access by employees of the board to confidential personal information in the system.

(D) The board shall require employees of the board who access confidential personal information within computer systems to maintain a log that records that access. Access to confidential information is not required to be entered into the log under the following circumstances:

(1) The employee of the board is accessing confidential personal information for official board purposes, including research, and the access is not specifically directed toward a specifically named individual or a group of specifically named individuals.

(2) The employee of the board is accessing confidential personal information for routine office procedures and the access is not specifically directed toward a specifically named individual or a group of specifically name individuals.

(3) The employee of the board comes into incidental contact with confidential personal information and the access of the information is not specifically directed toward a specifically named individual or a group of specifically named individuals.

(4) The employee of the board accesses confidential personal information about an individual based upon a request made under either of the following circumstances:

(a) The individual requests confidential personal information about himself/herself.

(b) The individual makes a request that the board takes some action on that individual's behalf and accessing the confidential personal information is required in order to consider or process that request.

(5) For purposes of this paragraph, the board may choose the form or forms of logging, whether in electronic or paper formats.

(E) The board shall issue a log management policy that specifies the following:

(1) Who shall maintain the log;

(2) What information shall be captured in the log;

(3) How the log is to be stored; and

(4) How long information in the log is to be retained.

Last updated September 8, 2023 at 2:51 PM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 119.03, 1347.15
Amplifies: 1347.15
Five Year Review Date: 10/1/2026