By registering, you confirm that you will abide by :
PATIENT PRIVACY OF SUBMISSIONS TO THE AAT ATLAS OF MEDICAL THERMOLOGY - HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA) REQUIREMENTS
As thermographic images (except for facial images) do not identify any particular individual (much like an unlabeled radiograph does not identify an individual), they fall into the HIPAA category of “de-identified protected health information.” That is: “health information that does not identify an individual and with respect to which there is no reasonable basis to believe that the information can be used to identify an individual.”
To meet this HIPAA requirement for privacy, the following identifiers of the individual (or of relatives, employers, or household members of the individual) must be removed from all materials submitted for publication in the Atlas:
(A) Names.
(B) All geographic subdivisions smaller than a State, including street address, city, county, precinct, zip code, and their equivalent geocodes, except for the initial three digits of a zip code if, according to the current publicly available data from the Bureau of the Census: (1) The geographic unit formed by combining all zip codes with the same three initial digits contains more than 20,000 people; and (2) The initial three digits of a zip code for all such geographic units containing 20,000 or fewer people is changed to 000.
(C) All elements of dates (except year) for dates directly related to an individual, including birth date, imaging date, admission or discharge date, date of death; and all ages over 89 and all elements of dates (including year) indicative of such age (over 89), except that such ages and elements may be aggregated into a single category of age 90 or older.
(D) Telephone numbers.
(E) Fax numbers.
(F) Electronic mail addresses.
(G) Social security numbers.
(H) Medical record numbers.
(I) Health plan beneficiary numbers.
(J) Account numbers.
(K) Certificate/license numbers.
(L) Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers.
(M) Device identifiers and serial numbers.
(N) Web Universal Resource Locators (URLs).
(O) Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or numbers.
(P) Biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints.
(Q) Full face images and any comparable images (side of face, etc.).
(R) Any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code. This includes Tattoos recognizable on the image(s). This includes unique recognizable jewelry.
All materials submitted to the Atlas will be reviewed and checked for compliance with these HIPAA requirements for de-identification as outlined above. Materials not in compliance will be returned to the submitter for correction with an explanation as to why the material is not acceptable. After correction, rejected materials may be re-submitted.