Dr. Sharon Smart is a senior genetics researcher for Genomatic, Inc., an emerging pharmaceutical company. Dr. Smart was the lead researcher in a recent large-scale clinical study designed to test the efficacy of Alive, a new pharmaceutical designed to successfully treat a terminal form of ovarian cancer. Dr. Smart received a call today from a colleague at Genomatic, Dr. Duit, the chief information officer, who worked in the company's headquarters in Seattle. Dr. Duit had recently received a request from the dean of the medical school at a major university that sought access to some of the company's clinical trials databases. Researchers at the medical school thought that some of Genomatic's information might further research on a joint pharmaceutical project between the university and Genomatic. Dr. Smart inquired as to whether she could share the data without specified informed consent of the subjects. Dr. Duit assured her that he spoke with the company's legal counsel and was informed that there is no state law against sharing this data (at least in Washington state). He also informed Dr. Smart that Genomatic's CEO recently pledged monetary support to the university and this was a mutually beneficial practice for both Genomatic and the university, and the public would benefit as well through improvements in medical science. He then stated that no one debates the value of using this data and instructed Dr. Smart to send him the data tomorrow. Assuming that the original consent forms do not authorize release of data to the university, what should Dr. Smart do to ensure that her response to the data request is responsible as well as legally and ethically sound?
(A) Defer to Genomatic company policy and/or input from company officials
(B) Involve as many knowledgeable people as possible in the decision making process
(C) Limit disclosure to that which is clearly authorized by state privacy and reporting laws
(D) Release all health information requested by the university to the chief information officer