On February 9, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration published in the Federal Register a proposed rule amending regulations under 42 CFR Part 2 regarding confidentiality protections for substance use disorder treatment information.
While the proposed rule "would maintain the requirement that patient consent be obtained prior to disclosing or exchanging medical records that would identify, directly or indirectly, an individual who has been diagnosed or treated for a substance-abuse disorder," it would allow other health-related information to be disclosed without consent "if permissible, under other applicable laws." This change would address the historic conflict between 42 CFR Part 2's requirements and HIPAA's provisions that permit disclosure of patient information for "treatment, payment, and health care operations."
Comments to the proposed rule are due by April 11, 2016.
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