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manner which meets the written consent requirements of these regulations. The proceeding may include an examination by the judge of the patient records referred to in the application.

(d) Criteria for entry of order. An order under this section may be entered only if the court determines that good cause exists. To make this determination the court must find that:

(1) Other ways of obtaining the information are not available or would not be effective; and

(2) The public interest and need for the disclosure outweigh the potential injury to the patient, the physician-patient relationship and the treatment services.

(e) Content of order. An order authorizing a disclosure must:

(1) Limit disclosure to those parts of the patient's record which are essential to fulfill the objective of the order;

(2) Limit disclosure to those persons whose need for information is the basis for the order; and

(3) Include such other measures as are necessary to limit disclosure for the protection of the patient, the physician-patient relationship and the treatment services; for example, sealing from public scrutiny the record of any proceeding for which disclosure of a patient's record has been ordered.

$2.65 Procedures and criteria for orders authorizing disclosure and use of records to criminally investigate or prosecute patients.

(a) Application. An order authorizing the disclosure or use of patient records to criminally investigate or prosecute a patient may be applied for by the person holding the records or by any person conducting investigative or prosecutorial activities with respect to the enforcement of criminal laws. The application may be filed separately, as part of an application for a subpoena or other compulsory process, or in a pending criminal action. An application must use a fictitious name such as John Doe, to refer to any patient and may not contain or otherwise disclose patient identifying information unless the court has ordered the record of the proceeding sealed from public scrutiny.

(b) Notice and hearing. Unless an order under §2.66 is sought with an

order under this section, the person holding the records must be given:

(1) Adequate notice (in a manner which will not disclose patient identifying information to third parties) of an application by a person performing a law enforcement function;

(2) An opportunity to appear and be heard for the limited purpose of providing evidence on the statutory and regulatory criteria for the issuance of the court order; and

(3) An opportunity to be represented by counsel independent of counsel for an applicant who is a person performing a law enforcement function.

(c) Review of evidence: Conduct of hearings. Any oral argument, review of evidence, or hearing on the application shall be held in the judge's chambers or in some other manner which ensures that patient identifying information is not disclosed to anyone other than a party to the proceedings, the patient, or the person holding the records. The proceeding may include an examination by the judge of the patient records referred to in the application.

(d) Criteria. A court may authorize the disclosure and use of patient records for the purpose of conducting a criminal investigation or prosecution of a patient only if the court finds that all of the following criteria are met:

(1) The crime involved is extremely serious, such as one which causes or directly threatens loss of life or serious bodily injury including homicide, rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and child abuse and neglect.

(2) There is a reasonable likelihood that the records will disclose information of substantial value in the investigation or prosecution.

(3) Other ways of obtaining the information are not available or would not be effective.

(4) The potential injury to the patient, to the physician-patient relationship and to the ability of the program to provide services to other patients is outweighed by the public interest and the need for the disclosure. (5) If the applicant is a person performing a law enforcement function that:

(i) The person holding the records has been afforded the opportunity to be

represented by independent counsel;

and

(ii) Any person holding the records which is an entity within Federal, State, or local government has in fact been represented by counsel independent of the applicant.

(e) Content of order. Any order authorizing a disclosure or use of patient records under this section must:

(1) Limit disclosure and use to those parts of the patient's record which are essential to fulfill the objective of the order;

(2) Limit disclosure to those law enforcement and prosecutorial officials who are responsible for, or are conducting, the investigation or prosecution, and limit their use of the records to investigation and prosecution of extremely serious crime or suspected crime specified in the application; and (3) Include such other measures as are necessary to limit disclosure and use to the fulfillment of only that public interest and need found by the court.

[52 FR 21809, June 9, 1987; 52 FR 42061, Nov. 2, 1987]

§2.66 Procedures and criteria for or

ders authorizing disclosure and use of records to investigate or prosecute a program or the person holding the records.

(a) Application. (1) An order authorizing the disclosure or use of patient records to criminally or administratively investigate or prosecute a program or the person holding the records (or employees or agents of that program or person) may be applied for by any administrative, regulatory, supervisory, investigative, law enforcement, or prosecutorial agency having jurisdiction over the program's or person's activities.

(2) The application may be filed separately or as part of a pending civil or criminal action against a program or the person holding the records (or agents or employees of the program or person) in which it appears that the patient records are needed to provide material evidence. The application must use a fictitious name, such as John Doe, to refer to any patient and may not contain or otherwise disclose any patient identifying information unless

the court has ordered the record of the proceeding sealed from public scrutiny or the patient has given a written consent (meeting the requirements of §2.31 of these regulations) to that disclosure.

(b) Notice not required. An application under this section may, in the discretion of the court, be granted without notice. Although no express notice is required to the program, to the person holding the records, or to any patient whose records are to be disclosed, upon implementation of an order so granted any of the above persons must be afforded an opportunity to seek revocation or amendment of that order, limited to the presentation of evidence on the statutory and regulatory criteria for the issuance of the court order.

(c) Requirements for order. An order under this section must be entered in accordance with, and comply with the requirements of, paragraphs (d) and (e) of §2.64 of these regulations.

(d) Limitations on disclosure and use of patient identifying information: (1) An order entered under this section must require the deletion of patient identifying information from any documents made available to the public.

(2) No information obtained under this section may be used to conduct any investigation or prosecution of a patient, or be used as the basis for an application for an order under §2.65 of these regulations.

§2.67 Orders authorizing the use of undercover agents and informants to criminally investigate employees or agents of a program.

(a) Application. A court order authorizing the placement of an undercover agent or informant in a program as an employee or patient may be applied for by any law enforcement or prosecutorial agency which has reason to believe that employees or agents of the program are engaged in criminal misconduct.

(b) Notice. The program director must be given adequate notice of the application and an opportunity to appear and be heard (for the limited purpose of providing evidence on the statutory and regulatory criteria for the issuance of the court order), unless the application asserts a belief that:

(1) The program director is involved in the criminal activities to be investigated by the undercover agent or informant; or

(2) The program director will intentionally or unintentionally disclose the proposed placement of an undercover agent or informant to the employees or agents who are suspected of criminal activities.

(c) Criteria. An order under this section may be entered only if the court determines that good cause exists. To make this determination the court must find:

(1) There is reason to believe that an employee or agent of the program is engaged in criminal activity;

(2) Other ways of obtaining evidence of this criminal activity are not available or would not be effective; and

(3) The public interest and need for the placement of an undercover agent or informant in the program outweigh the potential injury to patients of the program, physician-patient relationships and the treatment services.

(d) Content of order. An order authorizing the placement of an undercover agent or informant in a program must:

(1) Specifically authorize the placement of an undercover agent or an informant;

(2) Limit the total period of the placement to six months;

(3) Prohibit the undercover agent or informant from disclosing any patient identifying information obtained from the placement except as necessary to criminally investigate or prosecute employees or agents of the program; and

(4) Include any other measures which are appropriate to limit any potential disruption of the program by the placement and any potential for a real or apparent breach of patient confidentiality; for example, sealing from public scrutiny the record of any proceeding for which disclosure of a patient's record has been ordered.

(e) Limitation on use of information. No information obtained by an undercover agent or informant placed under this section may be used to criminally investigate or prosecute any patient or as the basis for an application for an order under §2.65 of these regulations.

PART 29-PROTECTION OF IDENTITY-RESEARCH SUBJECTS

Sec.

2a.1 Applicability.

2a.2 Definitions.

2a.3

2a.4

Application; coordination.

Contents of application; in general. 2a.5 Contents of application; research projects in which drugs will be administered.

2a.6 Issuance of Confidentiality Certificates; single project limitation. 2a.7 Effect of Confidentiality Certificate. 2a.8 Termination.

AUTHORITY: Sec. 3(a), Pub. L. 91-513 as amended by sec. 122(b), Pub. L. 93-282; 84 Stat. 1241 (42 U.S.C. 242a(a)), as amended by 88 Stat. 132.

SOURCE: 44 FR 20384, Apr. 4, 1979, unless otherwise noted.

§ 2a.1 Applicability.

of

(a) Section 303(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242a(a)) provides that "[t]he Secretary [of Health and Human Services] may authorize persons engaged in research on mental health, including research on the use and effect of alcohol and other psychoactive drugs, to protect the privacy of individuals who are the subject of such research by withholding from all persons not connected with the conduct of such research the names or other identifying characteristics such individuals. Persons so authorized to protect the privacy of such individuals may not be compelled in any Federal, State, or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceedings to identify such individuals." The regulations in this part establish procedures under which any person engaged in research on mental health including research on the use and effect of alcohol and other psychoactive drugs (whether or not the research is federally funded) may, subject to the exceptions set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, apply for such an authorization of confidentiality.

(b) These regulations do not apply to: (1) Authorizations of confidentiality for research requiring an Investigational New Drug exemption under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355(i)) or to approved new drugs, such as methadone, requiring continuation of long

term studies, records, and reports. Attention is called to 21 CFR 291.505(g) relating to authorizations of confidentiality for patient records maintained by methadone treatment programs.

(2) Authorizations of confidentiality for research which are related to law enforcement activities or otherwise within the purview of the Attorney General's authority to issue authorizations of confidentiality pursuant to section 502(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 872(c)) and 21 CFR 1316.21.

(c) The Secretary's regulations on confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient records (42 CFR part 2) and the regulations of this part may, in some instances, concurrently cover the same transaction. As explained in 42 CFR 2.24 and 2.24-1, 42 CFR part 2 restricts voluntary disclosures of information from applicable patient records while a Confidentiality Certificate issued pursuant to the regulations of this part protects a person engaged in applicable research from being compelled to disclose identifying characteristics of individuals who are the subject of such research.

§2a.2 Definitions.

(a) Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services and any other officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human Services to whom the authority involved has been delegated.

(b) Person means any individual, corporation, government, or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, partnership, association, or other legal entity.

(c) Research means systematic study directed toward new or fuller knowledge and understanding of the subject studied. The term includes, but is not limited to, behavioral science studies, surveys, evaluations, and clinical investigations.

(d) Drug has the meaning given that term by section 201(g)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(g)(1)).

(e) Controlled drug means a drug which is included in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V of part B of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 811-812).

(f) Administer refers to the direct application of a drug to the body of a human research subject, whether such application be by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or any other means, by (1) a qualified person engaged in research (or, in his or her presence, by his or her authorized agent), or (2) a research subject in accordance with instructions of a qualified person engaged in research, whether or not in the presence of a qualified person engaged in research.

(g) Identifying characteristics refers to the name, address, any identifying number, fingerprints, voiceprints, photographs or any other item or combination of data about a research subject which could reasonably lead directly or indirectly by reference to other information to identification of that research subject.

(h) Psychoactive drug means, in addition to alcohol, any drug which has as its principal action an effect on thought, mood, or behavior.

§ 2a.3 Application; coordination.

(a) Any person engaged in (or who intends to engage in) the research to which this part applies, who desires authorization to withhold the names and other identifying characteristics of individuals who are the subject of such research from any person or authority not connected with the conduct of such research may apply to the Office of the Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Office of the Director, National Institute of Mental Health, or the Office of the Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857 for an authorization of confidentiality.

(b) If there is uncertainty with regard to which Institute is appropriate or if the research project falls within the purview of more than one Institute, an application need be submitted only to one Institute. Persons who are uncertain with regard to the applicability of these regulations to a particular type of research may apply for an authorization of confidentiality under the regulations of this part to one of the Institutes. Requests which are within the scope of the authorities described

in §2a.1(b) will be forwarded to the appropriate agency for consideration and the person will be advised accordingly.

(c) An application may accompany, precede, or follow the sumission of a request for DHHS grant or contract assistance, though it is not necessary to request DHHS grant or contract assistance in order to apply for a Confidentiality Certificate. If a person has previously submitted any information required in this part in connection with a DHHS grant or contract, he or she may substitute a copy of information thus submitted, if the information is current and accurate. If a person requests a Confidentiality Certificate at the same time he or she submits an application for DHHS grant or contract assistance, the application for a Confidentiality Certificate may refer to the pertinent section(s) of the DHHS grant or contract application which provide(s) the information required to be submitted under this part. (See §§ 2a.4 and 2a.5.)

(d) A separate application is required for each research project for which an authorization of confidentiality is requested.

§ 2a.4 Contents of application; in general.

In addition to any other pertinent information which the Secretary may require, each application for an authorization of confidentiality for a research project shall contain:

(a) The name and address of the individual primarily responsible for the conduct of the research and the sponsor or institution with which he or she is affiliated, if any. Any application from a person affiliated with an institution will be considered only if it contains or is accompanied by documentation of institutional approval. This documentation may consist of a written statement signed by a responsible official of the institution or of a copy of or reference to a valid certification submitted in accordance with 45 CFR part 46.

(b) The location of the research project and a description of the facilities available for conducting the research, including the name and address of any hospital, institution, or clinical labora

tory facility to be utilized in connection with the research.

(c) The names, addresses, and summaries of the scientific or other appropriate training and experience of all personnel having major responsibilities in the research project and the training and experience requirements for major positions not yet filled.

(d) An outline of the research protocol for the project including a clear and concise statement of the purpose and rationale of the research project and the general research methods to be used.

(e) The date on which research will begin or has begun and the estimated date for completion of the project.

(f) A specific request, signed by the individual primarily responsible for the conduct of the research, for authority to withhold the names and other identifying characteristics of the research subjects and the reasons supporting such request.

(g) An assurance (1) From persons making application for a Confidentiality Certificate for a research project for which DHHS grant or contract support is received or sought that they will comply with all the requirements of 45 CFR part 46, "Protection of Human Subjects," or

(2) From all other persons making application that they will comply with the informed consent requirements of 45 CFR 46.103(c) and document legally effective informed consent in a manner consistent with the principles stated in 45 CFR 46.110, if it is determined by the Secretary, on the basis of information submitted by the person making application, that subjects will be placed at risk. If a modification of paragraphs (a) or (b) of 45 CFR 46.110 is to be used, as permitted under paragraph (c) of that section, the applicant will describe the proposed modification and submit it for approval by the Secretary.

(h) An assurance that if an authorization of confidentiality is given it will not be represented as an endorsement of the research project by the Secretary or used to coerce individuals to participate in the research project.

(i) An assurance that any person who is authorized by the Secretary to protect the privacy of research subjects

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