Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule are intended to support reproductive health care privacy. These changes address the new prohibitions against using or disclosing protected health information (PHI) for the purposes of investigating or holding one liable related to reproductive health care services. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade with the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, the changes are being made to foster a safer environment where individuals will not fear the use of their PHI to hold them liable in relation to use of reproductive health care services.
Effective Date
The Final rule takes effect June 25, 2024, and entities that are required to abide by HIPAA must comply with all requirements of the Final Rule by December 23, 2024.
Services that would be considered “reproductive health care” under the new definition as outlined in 45 CFR 160.103:
- Contraception (including emergency contraception)
- Management of pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions
- Such as hypertension, pre-eclampsia, ectopic pregnancy, gestational diabetes, etc.
- Prenatal care
- Management of Miscarriage
- Abortion (or pregnancy termination)
- Fertility care (e.g. IVF, IUI)
- Diagnosis and Treatment of conditions affecting the reproductive system
- (E.g. menopause, endometriosis)
- Mammography
- Nutrition services relating to pregnancy
- Post-partum care products
- Preconception Screening/Counseling
Important Note: The prohibitions against the uses and disclosures apply to all PHI, meaning that, records that do not at first appear to contain information regarding a patient’s reproductive health care may still contain party of reproductive health information. For instance, a record relating to an unrelated surgery may contain information such as pregnancy status, date of last period, current medications which may include contraceptives, and other information. If the covered entity were to receive a request for that surgery record, and that PHI is used to investigate the patient’s use of lawful reproductive health care, then the entity who received the request would be prohibited from disclosing that particular surgery record for the purposes it was requested.
Revolution Law Group is located in Greensboro, NC, and serves individuals and small businesses throughout the Triad and surrounding areas. To contact us please visit Revolution.law or call 336-333-7907.
The information included here is for informational purposes only, is not exhaustive of all considerations when creating documents, is not intended to be legal advice, and should not be relied upon for that purpose. We strongly recommend you consult with an attorney and do not attempt to create your own documents.