HIPAA Privacy Regulations for Substance Abuse Counselors in Idaho

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, known as HIPAA, protects patients and health care providers from inappropriate release and use of private health information. HIPAA is a federal law and supersedes contradictory state laws. According to the U.S. Department of Human Services, three main rules comprise HIPAA: the Privacy Rule, which protects individuals' health records; the Patient Safety Rule, which governs usage of patient records to improve hospital and clinical environments; and the Security Rule, which regulates electronic medical files. As in all states, Idaho clinicians must comply with all three areas of the act. Physical and mental health providers in Idaho must follow HIPAA guidelines, including substance abuse counselors.

Protected Health Information in Idaho

• Your mental health records are protected by HIPAA.

  HIPAA ensures that patients' mental health-care information in electronic, paper or other forms remains private. Data about a patient's past or present conditions, treatments and payments are all privileged information. Conversations between a patient and counselor are also protected. Removing patients' personal information (de-identifying) from the records, however, opens them up for outside use by third parties. An Idaho substance abuse counselor may not share knowledge about a patient's condition or treatment with anyone not specified by the patient in a written form of consent.

Exemptions for Protected Information in Idaho

• Providers may contact law enforcement for a patient's or society's benefit.

  Substance abuse counselors who suspect neglect, domestic violence or abuse may contact government authorities. Additionally, Idaho's law enforcement can obtain mental health records by court order, when tracking a fugitive, to identify the victim of a crime or when a provider believes a crime has occurred at his mental-health facility. Providers for patients threatening harm to themselves or others or posing a public safety risk may notify law enforcement and convey relevant information. Either Idaho state or county law enforcement may handle such cases.

What HIPAA Covers

• In Idaho, HIPAA covers exchanges of substance abuse patients' information in 10 transactions: the first report of substance abuse, authorization of insurance benefits, substance abuse treatment payment advice, substance abuse premium information, benefit guidelines, eligibility for substance abuse care, making substance abuse insurance claims, coordination of treatment between providers, substance abuse treatment claim status and enrollment status in a health care plan. Whether the patient has private or public health insurance, such as Medicare, these 10 transactions between provider and patient are subject to HIPAA. To ensure proper compliance, providers must have a privacy officer on staff to ensure that HIPAA guidelines are consistently and universally followed.