All protected health information possessed by the department shall be considered confidential, except that the commissioner shall be authorized to provide vital record information to institutions and individuals both within and outside of the department who demonstrate a need for such information for the purpose of conducting health-related research. Any such release shall be conditioned upon the understanding that once the health-related research is complete that all information provided will be returned to the department or destroyed. All releases of information shall be consistent with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191 (HIPAA) and regulations promulgated thereunder by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (45 C.F.R. part 160 and Part 164). This shall include the requirement that all proposed releases of vital records information to institutions and individuals both within and outside the department for the purposes of health-related research be reviewed and approved by the board, under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 126:24-e, before the requested information is released.