On September 20, 2013, the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced the addition of a new resource on its website to assist law enforcement and emergency planners when addressing information-sharing that may be subject to the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Among other things, the guide does the following:

  • Describes the Privacy Rule and identifies which entities are required to comply
  • Outlines several examples of when disclosures of health information to law enforcement is allowed

The guide is available online.