Public health,

Public health, as used in the terms public health surveillance, public health investigation, and public health intervention, means population-level activities to prevent disease in and promote the health of populations. Such activities include identifying, monitoring, preventing, or mitigating ongoing or prospective threats to the health or safety of a population, which may involve the collection of protected health information. But such activities do not include those with any of the following purposes:
(1) To conduct a criminal, civil, or administrative investigation into any person for the mere act of seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating health care.
(2) To impose criminal, civil, or administrative liability on any person for the mere act of seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating health care.
(3) To identify any person for any of the activities described at paragraphs (1) or (2) of this definition.

Source

45 CFR § 160.103

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Scoping language

Except as otherwise provided, the following definitions apply to this subchapter:

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