Hippa issue

Every now and then hospital personnel or a defense attorney claims a blood test or medical record can't be used in a DUI case due to Hippa. Know Hippa and learn that is absolutely wrong.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is not violated by either the State requesting the results of a defendant's medical BAC results, nor by a medical facility providing them to the State. The United States Code of Federal Regulations, 45 CFR §164.502(b)(2)(v), states that HIPAA does not apply to "uses or disclosures that are required by law as described by 45 CFR §164.512(a)". CFR §164.512(a)(1) states: "A covered entity may use or disclose protected health insurance information to the extent that such use or disclosure is required by law and the use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant requirements of such law."
CFR §164.512(f)(1)(C) permits a covered entity to disclose protected health information for a law enforcement purpose to a law enforcement official if an administrative request, administrative subpoena, summons, authorized investigative demand, or similar process authorized under law has been made, provided that: the information sought is relevant and material to a legitimate law enforcement inquiry; the request is specific and limited in scope to the extent reasonably practicable in light of the purpose for which information is sought; and de-identified information could not reasonably be used.
Moreover, even assuming a violation of HIPPA, suppression is not the remedy. Remedies for violations of HIPAA are specifically provided for by the statute: violations are remedied by civil and/or criminal sanctions against the individuals who inappropriately disclose information. 42 USC §1320d-5, §1320d-6. HIPAA was not meant to apply to purported police misconduct and does not contain an exclusionary rule as a remedy in the statute.