Question

Background: This notice of proposed rulemaking proposes changes to the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulations. These proposals were prompted by the need to continue aligning the regulations with advances in the U.S. health care delivery system, while retaining important privacy protections for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). SAMHSA strives to facilitate information exchange for safe and effective substance use disorder care, while addressing the legitimate privacy concerns of patients seeking treatment for a substance use disorder. Within the constraints of the statute, these proposals are also an effort to make the regulations more understandable and less burdensome.

You are a healthcare manager faced with implementing the proposed rules that we read about this week. Assume for this assignment that you do have patients who receive substance use treatment in your facility.

(a) Your concerns about the logistics of implementing the rule at your facility. That is, what specific steps would need to be taken in order to make this data sharing work? Your response to this question should be two to three sentences.

(b) Your thoughts about the legal issues that these changes may cause. List at least three items about legal compliance that you would need to address with your staff. Your response to this question should be at least three sentences.

Answer 1

Answer 1:

Being a healthcare manager faced with implementing the proposed rules, i would keep the information of the patient safe within the protected database of the organisation and would only share the data related to the way in which the treatment is carried out at our centre without mentioning the basic details such as name, address, contact details, etc. of the patient. The data regarding the treatment process would be sent by the most trusted executives of the organisation under the requisite security to SAMHSA by proper sealing the data. While transporting the data, signatures of the manager and the executives would be attached on the seal of the data and the executive receiving the data would be asked to receive the data in the sealed package bearing the sign of the manager and the executives. I would ask my executives to take the receipt confirming document from the receiving person for the office records.

Answer 2:

The proposed rule may call for some legal issues and it may lead to the some changes. it is the right of an individual seeking the treatment that all of his information should be kept confidential and the data related to his treatment should also remain confidential until and unless the patient under consideration gives the written permission for sharing the data to the key institutions for the benefits of the society. Sharing any information without the consent of the patient may call for the legal actions on the institution where the data was maintained.

Legal compliances to be addressed with the staff:

1. Under such circumstances, staff should be directed not to leak any of the information of the patient to any of the institution without the prior consent of the manager.

2. The data if required to be processed, it should be done fairly and by keeping the laws into consideration.

3. Non authorised person, either internal or external, should not get access to the data.

4. The data should not be kept longer than necessity and should be processed for limited purpose only.