Office for Civil Rights / Tuesday, August 29, 2017 / Categories: Privacy and Security, HIPAA Limited Waiver of HIPAA Sanctions and Penalties During Declared Emergency Guidance from the Office for Civil Rights From the OCR: Severe disasters – such as Hurricane Harvey – impose additional challenges on health care providers. Often questions arise about the ability of entities covered by the HIPAA regulations to share information, including with friends and family, public health officials, and emergency personnel. As summarized in more detail below, the HIPAA Privacy Rule allows patient information to be shared to assist in disaster relief efforts, and to assist patients in receiving the care they need. In addition, while the HIPAA Privacy Rule is not suspended during a public health or other emergency, the Secretary of HHS may waive certain provisions of the Privacy Rule under the Project Bioshield Act of 2004 (PL 108-276) and section 1135(b)(7) of the Social Security Act. The Secretary of HHS has declared a public health emergency in Texas and Louisiana following the President’s declaration that a disaster exists in the States of Texas and Louisiana. Under these circumstances, the Secretary has exercised the authority to waive sanctions and penalties against a covered hospital that does not comply with the following provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rule: the requirements to obtain a patient's agreement to speak with family members or friends involved in the patient’s care. See 45 CFR 164.510(b). the requirement to honor a request to opt out of the facility directory. See 45 CFR 164.510(a). the requirement to distribute a notice of privacy practices. See 45 CFR 164.520. the patient's right to request privacy restrictions. See 45 CFR 164.522(a). the patient's right to request confidential communications. See 45 CFR 164.522(b). Download the document or visit the link below to find out further details -> Print 38294 Tags: ePHIPHIHIPAAOCRBusiness AssociatesOffice of Civil RightsProtected Health InformationEmergency Sanctions Intended AudienceHealth IT Leadership, CIO, Health Center Staff Documents to download HITEQ-HHS-OCR-hurricane-harvey-hipaa-bulletin-2017(.pdf, 241.24 KB) - 1182 download(s) Resource Links A link to this and related resources on the Office for Civil Rights website Related Resources Health Center Emergency Response Resources Digital Health Strategy to Enable Comprehensive Care: Navigating Regulatory Waters- Compliance and Considerations Health Center Resilience in the Face of Cyber Adversity Individuals’ Access and Use of Patient Portals and Smartphone Health Apps, 2022 Information Blocking Rule Requirements for Part 2 Data in Patient Portals