Hawaii hospitals report de-identified health data to state

Hospitals with emergency departments must report de-identified health data to the Department of Health. The duty covers all hospitals with emergency departments licensed in Hawaii. The data includes information about infectious diseases, other illnesses, harmful exposures, disasters, and emerging public health threats. Hospitals must report in the manner and format the department specifies on its website. The law took effect upon approval on July 9, 2026.

The Department of Health may establish a state system to collect, keep, and analyze the data, and may require additional entities to report it by rule. Additional entities may include urgent care facilities, emergency medical services providers, other health care facilities, and poison control centers. The department must adopt rules under chapter 91 to require additional entities to report. The law took effect upon approval on July 9, 2026.

The law keeps syndromic surveillance data confidential and limits when it may be shared or released. These limits apply to syndromic surveillance data collected under the law. Data may be shared or disclosed only as allowed by federal and state health privacy and security laws, rules, and regulations, or for research approved by the department's institutional review board. The department may publicly release combined statistical data only if it cannot identify individuals. The law took effect upon approval on July 9, 2026.