Do the HIPAA Privacy Rules provisions permitting certain incidental uses and disclosures apply only to treatment situations or discussions among health care providers?
No. The provisions apply universally to incidental uses and disclosures that result from any use or disclosure permitted under the Privacy Rule, and not just to incidental uses and disclosures resulting from treatment communications, or only to communications among health care providers or other medical staff. If the provider and the health plan employee made reasonable efforts to avoid being overheard and reasonably limited the information shared, an incidental use or disclosure resulting from such conversations would be permissible under the Rule.
Related Questions
- Does an individual have a right under the HIPAA Privacy Rule to restrict the protected health information his or her health care provider discloses for workers’ compensation purposes?
- Do the HIPAA Privacy Rules provisions permitting certain incidental uses and disclosures apply only to treatment situations or discussions among health care providers?
- Generally, what does the HIPAA Privacy Rule require my health care provider and health plan to do?
