Release of data by department – Wis. Stat. Ann. § 153.45

The department of health services must release health care data that has been verified, reviewed, and commented upon in standard reports and public use data files. Data released for public use cannot include data from hospitals or ambulatory surgical centers cannot contain any identifying information.  Public use data files may only include the following:

1. The patient's county of residence.

2. The payment source, by type.

3. The patient's age category, by 5-year intervals.

4. The patient's procedure code.

5. The patient's diagnosis code.

6. Charges assessed with respect to the procedure code.

7. The name and address of the facility.

8. The patient's sex.

9. Health care provider’s name (not ambulatory surgery center), if the department first reviews and approves the release.

10. Calendar quarters of service, unless the department specifies by rule that the number of data elements included in the public use data file is too small to enable protection of patient confidentiality.

11. Information other than patient-identifiable data, as approved by the department.

The department may also release “custom-designed reports” so long as “the department first reviews and approves the release.”

The department must provide other agencies with any data necessary for the agency to carry out their statutory duties pertaining to epidemiology or if providing the data will minimize duplication of data collection efforts.

The department may release health care provider specific and employer specific data according to rules established by the department. However, such data cannot be released in public use data files and cannot include information regarding providers working in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.

The department must ensure that any person or entity that purchases data does not rerelease “individual data elements of health care data files.”