Analysis: Impact of HHS’ HIPAA Moves for COVID-19 Crisis

Recent HIPAA-related moves by federal regulators aim to improve information sharing and care coordination as the U.S. healthcare community battles the COVID-19 outbreak, says privacy attorney Kirk Nahra of the law firm WilmerHale. But some of the provisions could cause confusion, such as one waiving the requirement to comply with patients’ requests for “confidential communication” involving their health records. In a 17-minute interview, he also discusses:

• The potential impact of HIPAA waivers issued by HHS’ Office for Civil Rights
• Privacy and security considerations for healthcare entities as COVID-19 testing expands nationwide
• Recent HHS OCR guidance about COVID-19-related patient information disclosures to first responders and public health authorities
• The potential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on regulatory deadlines contained in HHS’ recently issued final rules pertaining to patient access, interoperability and information blocking
• A provision in Congress’ pending COVID-19 stimulus package regarding disclosures of records relating to substance use disorders
• OCR’s long-term plans to modify the HIPAA rules