OCR releases guidance on state public record laws
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, September 6, 2004
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The privacy rule allows a covered entity to use and disclose PHI as required by other laws, including state law. If a state agency is a covered entity and the state public records law orders the disclosure of PHI, the covered entity can release the information, according to recent guidance from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The disclosure must be limited to and meet the requirements of the state law.
Circumstances where exceptions apply or where the state law allows but does not mandate PHI disclosure are exempt from privacy rule compliance requirements, the guidance says. For example, some state laws allow state agencies to not release information when the disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
State agencies that are not covered entities do not have to comply with the privacy rule and the disclosure of information by those agencies is not subject to HIPAA requirements. Go to the OCR Web site for more information.
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