Stephen Murphy

In the latest development in the new administration’s efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, a Federal judge on Friday, February 21, 2025, granted a motion for preliminary injunction halting several provisions of two recent executive orders. Those bringing the lawsuit describe DEI as “foundational to the nation’s promise of equality for all.” This article takes a closer look at the lawsuit and what it could mean for DEI programs.

Data modernization initiatives hold the key, not just to better data infrastructure, but to identifying and reducing health disparities. This fact sheet highlights health disparities rooted in racism and explores how public health data modernization is crucial to reducing them. 

The availability of timely and accurate data is the lifeblood of modern public health practice and key to advancing health equity for all. The federal Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA took another step forward on August 6, 2024, with the release of five new or updated standard operating procedures which hold the potential to enhance exchange of timely, accurate data, in a usable format, across Qualified Health Information Networks nationwide.

The newly issued Biden Administration HIPAA Final Rule seeks to strengthen privacy protections under HIPAA for protected health information potentially related to reproductive health care. Join Network attorneys as they discuss key provisions, potential implementation challenges and what this means for public health, including how the rule may affect data transfers for public health purposes.

The Network has identified at least eleven states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) that have now passed laws that seek to keep health data relating to abortion out of the hands of those that would seek to use them against patients and their providers merely for seeking, receiving, or providing reproductive health care. This factsheet explores common themes and creative solutions in state and District of Columbia laws aimed at protecting the privacy of reproductive health records.

Access to timely data is essential for local health departments to provide critical public health interventions. Unfortunately, public health data is typically routed to state agencies where legal barriers, both actual and perceived, to sharing that data back to local health departments are encountered. The Illinois legislature recently passed sweeping legislation regarding access to public health data by local health departments. This fact sheet examines this new legislation and how it may transform local public health access to key data.

By one estimate, thirty-five percent of transgender youth find themselves in a state with laws banning gender affirming care. However, the Network has identified at least thirteen laws across ten states and the District of Columbia that seek to protect access to gender-affirming care as well as reproductive health care in the same act. This factsheet takes a closer look at legislation that couples transgender rights with reproductive rights.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eviscerated 50 years of precedent and constitutional rights to abortion. States have since adopted widely divergent reproductive health care access policies, illustrating serious legal questions remaining post-Roe. Attend this webinar for the latest information on litigation in state courts regarding reproductive health care access through state constitutions and statutes; an update on how states are protecting reproductive health records through data privacy laws; and how local health departments are serving their communities in the post-Roe landscape.

The OCR and FTC have issued renewed warnings regarding the dangers of online tracking technologies and the harm they can pose to the privacy of an individual’s health information. OCR and FTC warn that tracking technologies collect identifiable information, mostly unbeknownst to users, and can lead to violations of three federal laws by regulated entities.

A notice of proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule was recently issued to bolster the privacy of protected health information (PHI) relating to reproductive health care. The proposed changes are the latest in a series of steps by the Biden administration addressing privacy of reproductive health information following the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision last summer. This post takes a closer look at the proposed changes to HIPAA.

In the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, one abortion case involving a 10-year-old rape victim called into question issues of privacy when the attorney general in the case sought access to the minor’s abortion records. The case illustrates how, in the legal tug of war over abortion, health information may be weaponized against providers and individuals seeking or obtaining reproductive health services. This fact sheet explores actions taken at all levels of government to enhance protections of abortion-related health records and data.

Dissemination of data disaggregated by race and ethnicity is an important step in advancing health equity. However, the public dissemination of datasets that include race and ethnicity raises important legal considerations around privacy, primarily around re-identification. Re-identification refers to the ability to use data from a de-identified dataset to identify individuals. Modifications to the released data can reduce re-identification risks while maximizing the data’s utility.