Privacy Rule In Law Enforcement

The Privacy Rule is balanced to protect an individual’s privacy while allowing important law enforcement functions to continue. The Rule permits covered entities to disclose protected health information (PHI) to law enforcement officials, without the individual’s written authorization, under specific circumstances summarized below. For a complete understanding of the conditions and requirements for these disclosures, please review the exact regulatory text at the citations provided. Disclosures for law enforcement purposes are permitted as follows: * To comply with a court order or court-ordered warrant, a subpoena or summons issued by a judicial officer, or a grand jury subpoena. * To respond to an administrative request, such as
* If expressly authorized by law, and based on the exercise of professional judgment, the report is necessary to prevent serious harm to the individual or others, or in certain other emergency situations. Notice to the individual of the report may be required.

* To report PHI to law enforcement when required by law to do so .For example, state laws commonly require health care providers to report incidents of gunshot or stab wounds, or other violent injuries; and the Rule permits disclosures of PHI as necessary to comply with these laws.

* To alert law enforcement to the death of the individual, when there is a suspicion that death resulted from criminal act. Information about a decedent may also be shared with medical examiners or coroners to assist them in identifying the decedent, determining the cause of death, or to carry out their other authorized
The Privacy Rule establishes the right of an individual, such as a research subject, to authorize a covered entity to use and disclose his/her PHI for research purposes. This requirement is in addition to the informed consent to participate in research required under the HHS Protection of Human Subjects Regulations and other applicable Federal and State law. An Authorization differs from an informed consent in that an Authorization focuses on privacy risks and states how, why, and to whom the PHI will be used and/or disclosed for research. An informed consent, on the other hand, provides research subjects with a description of the study and of its anticipated risks and/or benefits, and a description of how the confidentiality of records will be protected, among other things. An Authorization can be combined with an informed consent document or other permission to participate in