The U.S. Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights offered guidance to physicians on how to share health information with patients’ families during crisis situations without violating privacy protections, Health Data Management reports. While patients are protected through Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protections, physicians can share information with certain individuals if it is done so in the best interest of the patient if that patient is incapacitated or unconscious or if it is done to prevent an imminent threat to a patient’s health or safety. OCR Director Roger Severino said, “Discrimination, bias and stereotypical beliefs about persons recovering from an opioid addiction can lead to unnecessary and unlawful barriers to health and social services that are key to addressing the opioid crisis.”
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