Obama Modified HIPPA to "strenghten" NICS

CMS.GOV said:

Obama administration modifies HIPAA to strengthen the firearm background check system

January 4

By: Jocelyn Samuels, Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Today the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) moved forward on commitments made by President Obama to curb gun violence across the nation. Specifically, we have modified the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to expressly permit certain covered entities to disclose to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) the identities of those individuals who, for mental health reasons, already are prohibited by Federal law from having a firearm.

Due to a history of under-reporting, the NICS has lacked complete information about all individuals who are prohibited by Federal law from possessing or receiving a firearm. The modification announced today better enables the reporting of the identities of prohibited individuals to the background check system and is an important step toward improving the public’s safety while continuing to strongly protect individuals’ privacy interests.

Specifically, this final rule gives States improved flexibility to ensure accurate but limited information is reported to the NICS. The rulemaking makes clear that, under the Privacy Rule, certain covered entities are permitted to disclose limited information to the NICS. The information that can be disclosed is the minimum necessary identifying information about individuals who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or otherwise have been determined by a lawful authority to be a danger to themselves or others or to lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs.

The new modification is carefully and narrowly tailored to preserve the patient-provider relationship and ensure that individuals are not discouraged from seeking voluntary treatment. This rule applies only to a small subset of HIPAA covered entities that either make the mental health determinations that disqualify individuals from having a firearm or are designated by their States to report this information to NICS – and it allows such entities to report only limited identifying, non-clinical information to the NICS.

The rule does not apply to most treating providers and does not allow reporting of diagnostic, clinical, or other mental health treatment information.

It is important to note that the vast majority of Americans with mental health conditions are not violent and that those with mental illness are in fact more likely to be victims than perpetrators. An individual who seeks help for mental health problems or receives mental health treatment is not automatically legally prohibited from having a firearm; nothing in this final rule changes that. HHS continues to support efforts by the Administration to dispel negative attitudes and misconceptions relating to mental illness and to encourage individuals to seek voluntary mental health treatment. Learn more about mental health resources and recovery at http://www.mentalhealth.gov.

The Final Rule is available for review at: http://www.federalregister.gov.

Want to comment on this Blog? Visit our Twitter page @HHSOCR to share your thoughts and start a conversation.

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SNIP said:

Among the persons
subject to the Federal mental health prohibitor established under the Gun Control Act of
1968 and implementing regulations issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) are
individuals who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution; found
incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity; or otherwise have been
determined by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority to be a danger to
themselves or others or to lack the mental capacity to contract or manage their own
affairs, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence or mental illness, incompetency,
condition, or disease. Under this final rule, only covered entities with lawful authority to
make the adjudications or commitment decisions that make individuals subject to the
Federal mental health prohibitor, or that serve as repositories of information for NICS
reporting purposes, are permitted to disclose the information needed for these purposes.
The disclosure is restricted to limited demographic and certain other information needed
for NICS purposes. The rule specifically prohibits the disclosure of diagnostic or clinical
information, from medical records or other sources, and any mental health information
beyond the indication that the individual is subject to the Federal mental health
prohibitor.

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Sling Blade said:

Wait a minute.

The Muslim-in-Chief acknowledges the existence of NICS, yet insists there's a problem with guns being sold without background checks.

Sounds like someone speaks with forked tongue.

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oldman12 said:

Sounds like some Communist mind speaking out of his ass.

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Sling Blade said:

Wait a minute.

Sounds like someone speaks with forked tongue.

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dtmeyers said:

Well now people will be less prone to go seek help for fear some hoplophobic doctor will say they are a danger to themselves or others. Way to scare people in NOT going to the doctor.

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Jim12 said:

Of course, in the good old days of the Soviet Union and other Marxist regimes, anyone who dared to disagree with the official line decreed by the State was deemed insane and involuntarily committed to a mental institution. If they were lucky. That could never happen here, not in a million years.

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CrazyIvan said:

Mental institution? I thought Siberia is where the insane were sent in Mother Russia. ;-)

Seriously though, this HIPAA modification scares me. I work for a healthcare organization that owns several hospitals, one of which is a psychiatric facility. I will have a hard time releasing any information that violates the original interpretation of HIPAA. Sad part is, if anyones information is given out and the interpretation changes back, then the government can screw both the patients by taking away their rights and the hospital for violating HIPAA. Sigh

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dtmeyers said:

Well now people will be less prone to go seek help for fear some hoplophobic doctor will say they are a danger to themselves or others. Way to scare people in NOT going to the doctor.

Click to expand...

dtmeyers said:

Well now people will be less prone to go seek help for fear some hoplophobic doctor will say they are a danger to themselves or others. Way to scare people in NOT going to the doctor.

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teratos said:

This.

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