August 3, 2020

WILMINGTON, NC—CastleBranch, an infectious disease screening and compliance management company, is offering Contact Tracing as a managed service to help schools, healthcare facilities and employers interrupt the spread of COVID-19, keep their people safe, and protect themselves from legal liability.

Several institutions and employers, including Walmart, Tyson Foods, Safeway, and healthcare facilities are facing litigation for gross negligence or wrongful death, with plaintiffs accusing the organizations of failing to adequately protect their people from the threat of COVID-19. With deaths from COVID-19 currently over 150,000 in the U.S., and the threat of harmful litigation looming over institutions and employers, organizations who take documented steps to interrupt the spread of the disease are better positioned to mitigate the associated health and financial risks.

While contact tracing is being conducted by public health departments, many do not notify institutions or employers when a potential exposure is uncovered within their organization.

“Reliance upon local public health authorities may not suffice,” said David Parker, former Interim Vice Chancellor of the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, General Counsel, and current member of the Infectious Disease Advisory Council. “These government agencies, even when adequately funded, will struggle to keep up with contact tracing demands.”

Institutions looking to implement contact tracing on their own are faced with another series of daunting challenges. Contact tracing requires a large, full–time staff of highly trained experts, hundreds or thousands of hours, and strict processes and procedures to uncover and contact potentially exposed individuals. The process also requires the collection of massive amounts of personal and medical data, the handling of which is governed by a complex web of federal and state privacy laws. Violating these regulations carry serious penalties and fines.

“To avoid legal missteps, [organizations] need to ensure that anyone conducting contact tracing on their behalf comply with data privacy and security laws, health information privacy laws, employment laws and, as applicable, with principles of constitutional law,” said Parker.

CastleBranch’s Contact Tracing, inspired by the IDC, CDC, and WHO, provides a fully–managed service to help organizations navigate the logistical, legal and liability challenges inherent in contact tracing, as well as provide visibility and insight into those who may have been exposed to COVID-19. The managed service includes a full–time staff of highly trained individuals to reach out to all exposed parties; data collection in compliance with state and federal privacy regulations; and a detailed audit trail captured and recorded to help protect organizations from claims of negligence or liability.

“COVID-19 represents one of the greatest existential threats to the health and wellbeing of individuals and organizations in modern history, and as experts in the field of infectious disease screening and data privacy law, we felt a great responsibility to help,” said Brett Martin, CEO of CastleBranch. “Our Contact Tracing service will help make the invisible visible, stop the spread of COVID-19 in its tracks, and provide protection at a time when its needed now more than ever.”

Call 888.914.7279 or email CastleBranch at covid19@castlebranch.com to learn more.