Citizens have the right to keep their health care information private. In February of 2020 the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a bulletin on HIPAA Privacy and Novel Coronavirus. It states, “In light of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is providing this bulletin to ensure that HIPAA covered entities and their business associates are aware of the ways that patient information may be shared under the HIPAA Privacy Rule in an outbreak of infectious disease or other emergency situation, and to serve as a reminder that the protections of the Privacy Rule are not set aside during an emergency.”
The HIPAA Privacy Rule protects the privacy of patients’ health information (protected health information) but is balanced to ensure that appropriate uses and disclosures of the information still may be made when necessary to treat a patient, to protect the nation’s public health, and for other critical purposes.
For example, health care providers may not disclose a patient’s health information to an employer. There are strict guidelines to release health information to the media.
You may read the full bulletin here, by clicking this link.
View the videos below to learn more:
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