Addiction Treatment Record-Sharing Overhauled in HHS Proposal (1)

Americans treated for drug addiction would see changes in how their medical records are shared under a proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Required by Congress under 2020’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the proposed rule (RIN: 0945-AA16) would allow health-care providers to share a patient’s substance use treatment records after a one-time consent.

The move marks a notable shift for record-sharing in addiction treatment, where patient consent was previously needed each time records were shared. Varying privacy law requirements “can slow treatment, inhibit care, and perpetuate negative stereotypes about people ...