(a) Except as expressly permitted in subdivision (b), a person or public or private entity not a party to a claim for workersâ compensation benefits shall not obtain individually identifiable information obtained or maintained by the division regarding that claim. For purposes of this section, âindividually identifiable informationâ means any data concerning an injury or claim that is linked to a uniquely identifiable employee, employer, claims administrator, or any other person or entity. (b) (1) (A) The administrative director, or a statistical agent designated by the administrative director, may use individually identifiable information for purposes of creating and maintaining the workersâ compensation information system as specified in Section 138.6. (B) The administrative director may publish the identity of claims administrators in the annual report disclosing the compliance rates of claims administrators pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 138.6. (C) The administrative director shall use individually identifiable information for purposes of creating provider medical utilization data as specified in Section 138.8. (2) (A) The State Department of Public Health may use individually identifiable information for purposes of establishing and maintaining a program on occupational health and occupational disease prevention as specified in Section 105175 of the Health and Safety Code. (B) (i) The State Department of Health Care Services may use individually identifiable information for purposes of seeking recovery of Medi-Cal costs incurred by the state for treatment provided to injured workers that should have been incurred by employers and insurance carriers pursuant to Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 14124.70) of Chapter 7 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (ii) The Department of Industrial Relations shall furnish individually identifiable information to the State Department of Health Care Services, and the State Department of Health Care Services may furnish the information to its designated agent, provided that the individually identifiable information shall not be disclosed for use other than the purposes described in clause (i). The administrative director may adopt regulations solely for the purpose of governing access by the State Department of Health Care Services or its designated agents to the individually identifiable information as defined in subdivision (a). (3) (A) Individually identifiable information may be used by the Division of Workersâ Compensation, the Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement, and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health as necessary to carry out their duties. The administrative director shall adopt regulations governing the access to the information described in this subdivision by these divisions. Any regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall set forth the specific uses for which this information may be obtained. (B) Individually identifiable information maintained in the workersâ compensation information system and the Division of Workersâ Compensation may be used by researchers employed by or under contract to the Commission on Health and Safety and Workersâ Compensation as necessary to carry out the commissionâs research. The administrative director shall adopt regulations governing the access to the information described in this subdivision by commission researchers. These regulations shall set forth the specific uses for which this information may be obtained and include provisions guaranteeing the confidentiality of individually identifiable information. Individually identifiable information obtained under this subdivision shall not be disclosed to commission members. Individually identifiable information obtained by researchers under contract to the commission pursuant to this subparagraph may not be disclosed to any other person or entity, public or private, for a use other than that research project for w
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