Mental Health Archives - HIPAA Templates

Does HIPAA permit health care providers to share protected health information (PHI) about an individual with mental illness with a third party that is not a health care provider for continuity of care purposes? For example, can a health care provider refer a homeless patient to a social services agency, such as a housing provider, when doing so may reveal that the basis for eligibility is related to mental health?

HIPAA, with few exceptions, treats all health information, including mental [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-10T20:22:22-04:00Mental Health|

Does HIPAA permit health care providers to share protected health information (PHI) about an individual who has mental illness with other health care providers who are treating the same individual for care coordination/continuity of care purposes?

HIPAA permits health care providers to disclose to other health [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-10T20:17:23-04:00Mental Health|

Does HIPAA prevent a school administrator, or a school doctor or nurse, from sharing concerns about a student’s mental health with the student’s parents or law enforcement authorities?

Student health information held by a school generally is subject [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-09T00:05:22-04:00Mental Health|

What options do family members of an adult patient with mental illness have if they are concerned about the patient’s mental health and the patient refuses to agree to let a health care provider share information with the family?

The HIPAA Privacy Rule permits a health care provider to [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-09T00:05:22-04:00Mental Health|

Does HIPAA provide extra protections for mental health information compared with other health information?

Generally, the Privacy Rule applies uniformly to all protected health [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-07T15:22:17-04:00Mental Health|

How does HIPAA interact with the federal confidentiality rules for substance use disorder treatment information in an emergency situation—which rules should be followed?

A health provider that provides treatment for substance use disorders, [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-10T20:17:23-04:00Mental Health|

Does HIPAA require a mental health provider to let a patient know that the provider is going to share information with others before disclosing PHI to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat?

Not at the time of disclosure; however, the Notice of [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-07T15:20:12-04:00Mental Health|

What constitutes a “serious and imminent” threat that would permit a health care provider to disclose PHI to prevent harm to the patient, another person, or the public without the patient’s authorization or permission?

HIPAA expressly defers to the professional judgment of health professionals [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-07T15:18:53-04:00Mental Health|

If a doctor believes that a patient might hurt himself or herself or someone else, is it the duty of the provider to notify the family or law enforcement authorities?

A health care provider’s “duty to warn” generally is derived [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-07T15:18:14-04:00Mental Health|

If a law enforcement officer brings a patient to a hospital or other mental health facility to be placed on a temporary psychiatric hold, and requests to be notified if or when the patient is released, can the facility make that notification?

The Privacy Rule permits a HIPAA covered entity, such as [...]

Jason Russell2020-09-07T15:17:02-04:00Mental Health|