The Defense Health Agency (DHA) Privacy and Civil Liberties Office (PCLO) is responsible for providing guidance to the enterprise on managing and safeguarding personally identifiable information as well as protected health information

Our Mission

Ensure vigilance in the protection of privacy information and promote compliance across the organization.

What We Do

We enforce compliance with Federal statute and Department of Defense (DOD) privacy & civil liberties related regulation and policy throughout the Military Health Service. This includes managing and evaluating potential risks and threats to the privacy and security of MHS health data by performing critical reviews and conducting:

• Evaluation of privacy and security safeguards, including conducting annual Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 Security Risk Assessments
• Performance of Internal Privacy Office Compliance Assessments
• Establishment of organizational performance metrics to identify and measure potential compliance risks
• Consultation for leadership and the workforce on areas of DHA-level oversight

In addition, the DHA Privacy Office has specific responsibility for various DHA-level areas. We support HIPAA development to comply with Federal laws, DOD regulations, and guidelines governing the privacy and security of PII/PHI, as well as the development and revision of DHA privacy-related plans, policies, and procedures. Key elements include:

• Breach Prevention and Response
• Civil Liberties Compliance
• Data Sharing Agreements
• HIPAA and Privacy Act Training
• HIPAA Compliance within the MHS
• Privacy Act at DHA
• Privacy Board
• Privacy Impact Assessments
• Research Compliance with HIPAA Privacy Rule
• Risk Assessment

The DHA PCLO also engages DHA stakeholders, including employees and contractors, by developing and delivering education and awareness materials and ongoing workforce privacy and HIPAA security training.