Opioid Treatment Records Easier to Share Under Rule in the Works (Corrected)

The Trump administration plans to change how patients who are treated for substance use must give consent to have their medical records shared with hospitals or pain doctors, according to two sources briefed on the discussions.

The change is under way because the current burdensome consent requirements create an easy way for other doctors to unwittingly prescribe opioids and get the patients hooked again.

The Department of Health and Human Services is planning to release a proposed rule in August to change a regulation that specifically governs privacy for patients who undergo substance use treatment. The law is designed to ...