HIPPA and law enforcement
Handling requests for information from law enforcement can throw staff for a loop. Most staff are aware of their organization’s policies and the basic Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements for disclosing patient information to family members, friends, and other individuals such as legal guardians. But handling requests from law enforcement officials can be a different matter.
In general, when law enforcement requests an update on a patient’s condition, staff can disclose information that’s included in the facility directory. Most organizations will have some type of policy on responding to information requests from law enforcement, says Barbara Beckett, RHIT, CHPS, system privacy officer for Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, Missouri. These policies should clearly delineate what information staff can release to law enforcement. OCR’s website includes a set of FAQs on permitted disclosures to law enforcement; organizations can reference the FAQs and other official guidance to fine-tune their policies.
Policies should also provide guidance on specific situations, Beckett says. For example, the policy should address situations in which a patient about whom law enforcement is requesting information is a victim of a crime or is unconscious or otherwise unable to give consent.
Accepting and processing subpoenas or warrants should also be covered in policy, Beckett adds. A specific individual should be designated the subpoena point person. This individual should be responsible for reviewing the subpoena, validating it, and responding within the deadline.
The policy should also draw on HIPAA and applicable state law to address releases to correctional institutions or patients that are under arrest, she says.
Although DNA tests and information can be important to investigations, law enforcement officials cannot simply request that an organization hand that information over, Beckett says. DNA information or analysis, dental records, body fluid analysis, and tissue samples cannot be released.
Source: News and Analysis