HIPAA does not block nursing home surveys
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) says HIPAA privacy regulations don’t negate requirements under the Social Security Act that the results of the most recent nursing home survey must be made available to the public. CMS says that the HIPAA privacy rule provides that protected health information may be used and disclosed without the authorization of the subject of the information to the extent that a law mandates such use or disclosure.
CMS provided a form letter that could be used in response to providers’ concerns over making survey results available as mandated by the Social Security Act. The model letter points out that "government regulatory programs that need health information to determine compliance with program standards (including the nursing facility survey program) do not need to obtain an individual’s authorization to use that individual’s health records for the appropriate oversight of entities subject to that program’s regulation."
State survey directors and CMS regional staff are advised to say that while they share concerns about privacy of nursing facility residents’ medical records, that concern must be balanced with duty under the law to regulate the nursing facility industry through the use of surveys and to inform the public by providing access to the results of those surveys.
The agency recommends they say that they regret that in rare circumstances the statements of deficiencies may inadvertently release information that can be traced to a particular resident of a surveyed facility, but such releases aren’t a violation of the spirit or provisions of the HIPAA privacy rule.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says HIPAA privacy regulations dont negate requirements under the Social Security Act that the results of the most recent nursing home survey must be made available to the public.
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