HHS Proposes Modifying Privacy Rules On Addiction Treatment Records

On February 9, 2016, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a proposal to modify federal privacy rules under 42 CFR Part 2 covering patient records for addiction treatment that would allow provider organizations to share information about an individual who has been diagnosed or treated for addiction. The proposal maintains an existing requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that the individual must grant prior consent for their personal health information to be disclosed or exchanged, but would allow treatment facilities to obtain a general . . .