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Sharing PHI with patient care-taker

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, February 15, 2002

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Q: Can protected health information regarding the whereabouts of the patient; i.e., that the patient is in the hospital, be shared with a family member or other person responsible for the care of a patient

A: Yes. The rules allow a covered entity to use or disclose protected health information to notify, or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or other person responsible for the care of the individual about the individual's location, general condition, or death.

If the patient is present and has the capacity to make health care decisions, the covered entity may use or disclose the protected health information if it does one of the following:

• obtains the individual's agreement
• provides the individual with the opportunity to object to the disclosure, and the individual does not express an objection
• reasonably infers from the circumstances, based on professional judgment, that the individual does not object to the disclosure

The rules state that if the individual is not present or does not have the opportunity to agree or object because of incapacity or emergency circumstances, the covered entity may exercise professional judgment to determine whether the disclosure is in the best interests of the individual. If so, the covered entity may disclose only the protected health information directly relevant to the person's involvement with the individual's health care.

The Department of Health and Human Services uses the example of a covered entity that notifies a patient's adult child that his father has suffered a stroke and is in the hospital's intensive care unit. The rules do not require a written agreement from the patient, but also do not prohibit it.

Editor's note: Brought to you by attorneys Marty Baxter and Gretchen McBeath at Bricker and Eckler, LLP (http://www.bricker.com/hipaa) and The Quality Management Consulting Group, Ltd. (http://www.qmcg.com). E-mail: mbaxter@bricker.com or gmcbeath@bricker.com.

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