The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued guidance for covered entities and business associates on how the HIPAA Privacy Rule mandates the sharing of sensitive health information in emergency cases, including diagnoses of Ebola, GovInfoSecurity reports. “HHS OCR (Office for Civil Rights) has received enough queries during the Ebola outbreak to release a bulletin to ensure that HIPAA covered entities and their business associates are aware of the ways in which patient information may be shared under the HIPAA Privacy Rule in an emergency situation and to serve as a reminder that the protections of the Privacy Rule are not set aside during an emergency,” said an OCR spokeswoman. HHS issued similar guidance after Hurricane Katrina.
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