Per the notice below, the United States Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have issued a Webinar presentation on aligning the special rules for substance abuse patient records with the rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

OCR and SAMHSA Release Webinar on the New Final Rule Modifying the Confidentiality Provisions for Substance Use Disorder Patient Records

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) release a Webinar recording on the new finalized modifications to the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records regulations at 42 CFR Part 2 (“Part 2”), which protect the privacy of patients’ SUD treatment records.  The new Part 2 Final Rule increases coordination among providers treating patients for SUDs, strengthens patient confidentiality protections through civil enforcement, and enhances integration of behavioral health information with other medical records to improve patient health outcomes.  The Webinar provides a history and overview of Part 2.  It also highlights valuable information on the new Part 2 Final Rule changes, which:

• Permits use and disclosure of Part 2 records based on a single patient consent given once for all future uses and disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations.
• Permits redisclosure of Part 2 records by HIPAA covered entities and business associates in accordance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule, with certain exceptions.
• Provides new patient rights under Part 2 to obtain an accounting of disclosures and to request restrictions on certain disclosures, also granted under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
• Provides HHS enforcement authority, including the potential imposition of civil money penalties for Part 2 violations.
• Outlines new breach notification requirements for Part 2 records.

The Part 2 Final Rule may be viewed or downloaded from the Federal Register at: www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/02/16/2024-02544/confidentiality-of-substance-use-disorder-sud-patient-records.

A Part 2 Final Rule fact sheet may be found at: www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/regulatory-initiatives/fact-sheet-42-cfr-part-2-final-rule/index.html.