1. Purpose

The California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) Data De-identification Guidelines (DDG) describes a procedure to be used by departments and offices in the CalHHS to assess data for public release. As part of the document, specific actions that may be taken for each step in the procedure are described. These steps are intended to assist departments in assuring that data is de-identified for purposes of public release that meet the requirements of the California Information Practices Act (IPA) of 1977 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to prevent the disclosure of personal information.

Additionally, the DDG support CalHHS governance goals to reduce inconsistency of practices across departments, align standards used across departments, facilitate the release of useful data to the public, promote transparency of state government, and support other CHHS initiatives, such as the CalHHS Open Data Portal.

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Table of Contents

The CalHHS Data De-Identification Guidelines are divided up into multiple sections. The sections can be navigated using the list on the left side of this page or by clicking one of the section links below:

• Background

• Scope

• Statistical De-Identification

• Types of Reporting

• Justification of Thresholds Identified

• Approval Process

• DDG Governance

• Publicly Available Data

• Development Process

• Legal Framework