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HHS proposes privacy rule changes for substance abuse records
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HHS has proposed a series of changes to its privacy rules related to the records of patients with substance abuse issues, arguing that the revisions are necessary in light of developing technology and a new emphasis on coordination and information sharing.
According to officials, changes to the Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records regulations, 42 CFR Part 2, are needed to modernize privacy standards to better fit with new national health priorities, which include a “foundation of information sharing to support coordination of patient care,” the development of electronic management of patient data, and a focus on performance management. At the same time, HHS said the new changes will address the “legitimate privacy concerns of patients seeking treatment for a substance use disorder.”
“This proposal will help patients with substance use disorders fully participate and benefit from a health care delivery system that’s better, smarter and healthier, while protecting their privacy,” HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said in a press release. “We are moving Medicare, and the health system as a whole, toward new integrated care models that incentivize providers to coordinate and put the patient at the center of their care, and we are modernizing our rules to protect patients.”
The current privacy rules related to patients with substance abuse issues were first instituted in 1975, and were last substantively updated in 1987. According to HHS, the regulations were drafted when there had been “great concern” that substance abuse treatment information could be used in criminal prosecutions, which in turn would discourage people from seeking help for substance abuse.
The “Part 2” rules, as written, offer more stringent federal protections for patients with substance abuse issues than most other privacy regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
The proposed changes have been published online in the Federal Register.
HHS announced the revisions following a listening session held by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on June 11, 2014. Written comments were accepted until June 25, 2014.
Those who wish to submit comments on the proposed changes must do by 5 p.m. on April 11.
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