Complying With HIPAA, Privacy Laws, and Exceptions During a Public Health Crisis

This CLE course will guide healthcare counsel on navigating HIPAA and other privacy laws in relation to public health. The panel will discuss the preemption of state public health laws and exceptions to HIPAA and other privacy laws, as well as the implications of the interoperability and information blocking rule. The panel will offer steps that healthcare providers should take to help ensure compliance with both privacy requirements and public health requirements.

Healthcare providers and health plans must balance the privacy concerns of patients with the need to protect patients and others from potential infection. Covered entities and business associates under HIPAA must consider HIPAA and other privacy law obligations as they use and disclose health information during a public health crisis.

Many privacy laws have exceptions that permit or require the use and sharing of protected health information when an important public policy purpose exists. These exceptions are often narrow, and counsel must understand when an exception applies and when it does not.

To comply with health privacy laws while meeting the disclosure needs for public health purposes, healthcare providers and their counsel should have policies and procedures in place to ensure the strict requirements for disclosure are met.

Listen as our authoritative panel of healthcare attorneys examines HIPAA and other privacy laws in the context of public health, preemption of state public health laws, and exceptions. The panel will also discuss measures that healthcare providers should have in place to ensure compliance with privacy requirements as well as public health requirements.