Making Sense of Federal Privacy Laws for Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Mental Health Treatment
Why Privacy Laws Matter
Privacy and confidentiality are crucial to treatment, particularly when it comes to mental health and substance use disorders. Individuals seeking treatment for mental health conditions or substance use disorders depend on strict confidentiality protections in order to feel confident sharing sensitive information with their providers.
Intro to the Laws
Multiple federal laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 42 CFR Part 2 (Part 2), and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), protect the privacy of mental health and substance use disorder treatment records. These laws permit sharing patient records in certain circumstances. Because these laws apply to different information in different ways, it can be hard to understand when they apply, what information should be kept private, and what can be shared, with whom, and when.
It is helpful to compare these three federal health privacy laws at a glance:
Applies to:
Covered entities (healthcare providers, health plans, healthcare clearinghouses) and their business associates
Protects privacy and security of general health information
Purpose:
To protect health data integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility
Permits:
Disclosures without patient consent for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations
Applies to:
SUD patient records from federally-assisted “Part 2 programs”
Protects privacy and security of records identifying individual as seeking/receiving SUD treatment
Purpose:
To encourage people to enter and remain in SUD treatment by guaranteeing confidentiality
Requires:
Patient consent for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, with limited exceptions
Applies to:
Schools that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education
Protects privacy of personally identifiable information in education records (including health records prepared by school nurse or school counselor)
Purpose:
To give parents and adult students more control over their educational records
Requires:
Parental (or adult student) consent to disclose information in most circumstances