OCR Issues Guidance Related To PHI Disclosures During COVID

On December 18, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued guidance specific to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and the COVID-19 public health emergency. The guidance addresses permitted HIPAA disclosures of Protected Health Information (“PHI”) by covered entities and business associates via health information exchanges (“HIEs”) for certain public health purposes.

OCR issued this guidance in order “to highlight how HIPAA supports the use of health information exchanges in sharing health data to improve the public's health, particularly during the COVID-19 public health emergency.”