New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 10 - HUMAN SERVICES › Chapter 37G - SHORT TERM CARE FACILITY STANDARDS › Subchapter 3 - CONFIDENTIALITY OF PATIENT RECORDS › Section 10:37G-3.5 - Disclosure of patient protected health information without authorization or court order

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) In the
				absence of the patient's authorization or a court order, STCF staff may
				disclose patient PHI for the following purposes and in accordance with the
				following conditions:
1. Treatment of the
				patient. STCF professional staff may disclose the minimum necessary patient PHI
				that is relevant to a patient's treatment and/or referral for treatment,
				pursuant to
30:4-27.5
.c, to staff at
				a community mental health agency, as defined in
30:9A-2
, another
				screening service or a short-term care or psychiatric facility or special
				psychiatric hospital, as defined at
30:4-27.2
.
2. Payment related to the patient's care.
				STCF staff may disclose patient PHI to the extent necessary to conduct an
				investigation into the financial ability to pay of the patient or his or her
				chargeable relatives pursuant to the provisions of
				30:1-12.
3. Individuals directly involved in the
				patient's care. STCF staff may make the following types of disclosure to the
				parties indicated in this paragraph, provided that they first comply with (a)4
				or 5 below, as applicable:
i. STCF staff may
				disclose to a family member, other relative, a close personal friend of the
				patient, or any other person identified by the patient, patient PHI directly
				relevant to the person's involvement in the patient's care or payment related
				to the patient's care; and
ii. STCF
				staff may use or disclose patient PHI to notify or assist in the notification
				of (including identifying or locating) a family member, a personal
				representative of the patient, or another person responsible for the care of
				the patient, of the patient's location, general condition, or death.
4. Disclosures where the patient
				is present. If the patient is present for, or otherwise available prior to, a
				disclosure permitted by (a)3 above and has the capacity to make mental health
				care decisions, STCF staff may disclose the patient's PHI if they first:
i. Obtain the patient's verbal
				agreement;
ii. Provide the patient
				with the opportunity to object to the disclosure and the patient does not
				express an objection; or
iii.
				Reasonably infer from the circumstances, based on the exercise of professional
				judgment, that the patient does not object to the disclosure.
5. Limited disclosures when the
				patient is not present. If the patient is not present, or the opportunity to
				agree or object to the use or disclosure cannot practically be provided because
				of the patient's incapacity or an emergency circumstance, STCF staff may, in
				the exercise of professional judgment, determine a disclosure permitted by (a)3
				above is in the best interest of the patient and, if so, disclose only the
				patient PHI that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with the
				patient's care. STCF staff may use professional judgment and their experience
				with common practice to make reasonable inferences of the patient's best
				interest in allowing a person to act on behalf of the patient to pick up filled
				prescriptions, medical supplies, x-rays, or other similar forms of
				PHI.