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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 12, 2020Contact: HHS Press Office202-690-6343[email protected]OCR Issues Guidance on How Health Care Providers Can Contact Former COVID-19 Patients About Blood and Plasma Donation OpportunitiesToday, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance on how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule permits covered health care providers to contact their patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to inform them about how they can donate their blood and plasma containing antibodies to help other patients with COVID-19.
The guidance explains that HIPAA permits covered health care providers to identify and contact patients who have recovered from COVID-19 for population-based activities relating to improving health, case management, or care coordination. The guidance emphasizes that, without patients' authorization, the providers cannot receive any payment from or on behalf of a blood and plasma donation center in exchange for such communications with recovered patients.
"We're making sure misconceptions about HIPAA do not get in the way of a promising COVID-19 response. This guidance explains how health care providers can connect COVID-19 survivors with blood and plasma donation opportunities and further public health consistent with patient privacy," said Roger Severino, OCR Director.
The guidance may be found at: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/guidance-on-hipaa-and-contacting-former-covid-19-patients-about-blood-and-plasma-donation.pdf*
For more information related to HIPAA and COVID-19, please visit: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/hipaa-covid19/index.html.
* People using assistive technology may not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, contact the HHS Office for Civil Rights at (800) 368-1019, TDD toll-free: (800) 537-7697, or by emailing [email protected].###Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other news materials are available at https://www.hhs.gov/news.Like HHS on Facebook, follow HHS on Twitter @HHSgov, and sign up for HHS Email Updates.Last revised: June 12, 2020 Sign Up for News Release UpdatesEnter your email:
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