First few Article Sentences
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services recently issued a final rule that will allow more flexibility for sharing patient records relating to substance use disorders.
The final rule amends Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 2 (Part 2 Regulations), which governs the confidentiality of substance use disorder records and sets forth more stringent privacy protections than the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The Part 2 Regulations had not been substantively amended since 1987 and therefore did not reflect changes in health care such as the use of electronic health records and integrated care models involving the sharing of information to coordinate care. SAMHSA stated its goal with this final rule is to ensure patients with substance use disorders can benefit from new integrated health care models without fear of putting themselves at risk.