Resources for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

HIPAA Privacy: What Should a Hospital Do When a Patient May Have Violated His or Her Parole?

www.aishealth.com

If Ron Gaasch has learned one thing in his nearly decade-long career as a compliance officer at a community hospital, it's that privacy issues aren't always black-and-white — especially when they intersect with law enforcement.

This was recently brought home to him when a doctor at his hospital called a patient's parole officer to report that the man had tested positive for the presence of illegal drugs, a probation violation.

The privacy rule states that CEs may disclose PHI to law enforcement officials when "the covered entity in good faith believes [the PHI] to be evidence of a crime that occurred on the covered entity's premises; when "consistent with applicable law and ethical standards;" and when such a disclosure is made "to a law enforcement official reasonably able to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of an individual or the public."

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