Health Information Management

Police reports exempt from privacy law, attorney general rules

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, September 6, 2004

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Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo ruled that the HIPAA privacy rule does not apply to the names of injured people mentioned in police reports, according to the Associated Press (AP). In his opinion, Stumbo wrote that the disclosure of these names allows for a public review of the way in which the police conduct law enforcement and crime investigations.

Shortly after the privacy rule took effect in April 2003, police in Covington and Newport, KY adopted non-disclosure policies regarding the names of injured people or those killed at a crime scenes mentioned in police reports.

Kentucky is the only state other than Texas to make a ruling on HIPAA, the AP reports. Covington will comply with the ruling as the city evaluates whether to appeal the decision. Newport plans to immediately reevaluate its open records policy.



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