Medical Records and Abortion: HIPAA Confidentiality and the Law Enforcement Exception Applied to Abortion Records

Medical records and abortion: HIPAA confidentiality and the law enforcement exception applied to abortion records -- how a HIPAA exception may swallow the privacy rule in a post-Roe vs. Wade health care world.

This webinar starts with some basic HIPAA privacy requirements and then diverts to a review of the law enforcement exceptions that allow state civil investigative agencies and criminal prosecutors to exploit HIPAA rules for various law enforcement purposes to obtain medical records of abortion.

Attendees should have a basic understanding of HIPAA and how state agencies investigate alleged violations of law, which now include a woman’s right to choose in states where abortion is illegal.

In the post-Roe vs. Wade healthcare world, healthcare practitioners must understand how HIPAA privacy applies to their medical records of abortion, as well as the law enforcement exceptions which may swallow the rule.

• The basics of HIPAA privacy requirements
• Exceptions to HIPAA privacy for law enforcement purposes for civil and criminal matters
• State authority of licensure boards and agencies to exploit HIPAA exceptions against health care practitioners under investigation regarding abortion
• How exceptions to HIPAA privacy are applied by law enforcement agencies, with an emphasis on medical records of abortion
• Examples of the many other kinds of records and electronic data that are not protected by HIPAA that may be obtained by law enforcement
• How prosecutors may investigate and prosecute women who seek abortion care, people who assist them, and the doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals who counsel or provide medical care regarding a woman’s right to choose
• State open records and investigative laws that apply to protect you when the state licensure board or agency has your patients’ Protected Health Information and medical records of abortion and how those laws have their own exceptions that swallow the confidentiality rule.

• Health care attorneys
• Corporate compliance officers in health care
• Medical records staff of medical offices and health care entities
• Hospital attorneys; health care practitioners who are covered entities
• Law enforcement officers in health care compliance
• state boards and agencies with jurisdiction over state licenses to practice a health care profession