COVID-19 2020 : COVID-19 and the Coming Coronavirus Pandemic in the United States : HIPAA Privacy and Public Health Exceptions

HIPAA exceptions for governmental public health activities transcend local, state, national, and even international governments. Erase the fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the current status of the COVID-19 coronavirus and the application of HIPAA privacy exceptions for public health activities.

This is what every health care practitioner needs to know about the coming pandemic and public health exceptions for privacy of medical records and patient information.

While the basic provisions of privacy for protected health information are well known, their application for public health exceptions in today's world facing a possible pandemic of the COVID-19 coronavirus must be examined from the perspective of the health care practitioner.

HIPAA privacy has many exceptions for law enforcement purposes, but what about civil, preventative public health purposes? How are these different from law enforcement purposes? If quarantine laws may be mandatory and restrict the liberty of U.S. citizens, how do the public health exceptions for HIPAA privacy fit that protect their health information when such persons are restricted from travel and confined to specified locations for an unknown and changing duration?

Many privacy rules regarding protected health information involve how and when protected health information is to be kept confidential and not accessible to others outside of direct patient care. But what about communicable diseases in a time of national crisis?

What protected health information may a health care practitioner divulge to public health entities of a state? Of the United States? Or even to a foreign government?

The necessity of transmitting and reporting information to local, state, national, and even international authorities is daunting considering a possible international pandemic of a highly communicable disease. Find out what you need to know about public health exceptions to privacy.