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Deapen D, Legislation, Regulations, and Confidentiality. In Central Cancer Registries, Design, Management and Use, 2nd Edition, Menck HR, Deapan D, Phillips JL and Tucker TC editors. 2007. Kendall/Hunt. Dubuque Iowa

At-a-glance
Application Level Registry Users Customers Users
Principles Basic All Staff Research
Public Health Professional
Link: http://www.kendallhunt.com/index.cfm?TKN=73613308-306E-01A4-A24A6AD30C13B74E&PID=219&PRD=14467

Overview:
The chapter provides a good overview of the principles and purposes of public health surveillance with a focus on issues relating to the release of cancer data. There is a balanced discussion about the benefits and risks of the release of cancer data and the search for an approach that benefits public health while minimizing the risks to individuals. The chapter includes brief discussions of confidentiality protection as it pertains to registry operations as well as the release of aggregate data, of restricted access or public use files, and of identifiable data for research. The chapter also covers in more depth issues related to contacting patients for research that central registries could use as a guide in developing their policies.