Release from SAMHSA – December 9, 2011
Protecting the confidentiality of people receiving substance abuse treatment services is of paramount importance. While assuring proper safeguards for privacy, it is also critical that information can be properly shared to help physical health and substance abuse practitioners provide the best care possible for individuals receiving treatment for addiction.
Federal regulations set the standards for providing care in a safe and secure manner. Now more than ever, with the advent of Electronic Health Records (EHR), it is critical to ensure that regulations around confidentiality are understood and properly applied.
To help substance abuse treatment providers maintain a free flow of information and understand the regulations in the context of healthcare reform, SAMHSA has published a second set of answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the topic. The first FAQs on “Applying the Confidentiality Regulations to Substance Abuse and Health Information Exchanges (HIEs)” were published in June of 2010. Subsequent to the release of the first set of FAQs and based on additional questions received, SAMHSA has published additional guidance on 42 CFR Part 2.
These FAQs are not intended to be legal advice; rather, they are intended to provide implementation guidance and clarification to practitioners and providers as they work to apply the regulations to their work. If further questions remain about the guidance provided, an opportunity to ask those questions will be provided at a public meeting on December 19, 2011, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. at the SAMHSA headquarters in Rockville, MD.
It is SAMHSA’s hope that this document proves to be of value and benefit to the field.
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