Should Past Drug Abuse Treatment be Included in a Patient’s Medical Record? (H.R. 6082)

What is H.R. 6082?

(Updated October 9, 2019)

This bill — the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act — would require that substance use treatment records are including in patients’ medical records under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). It would also enhance penalties for the disclosure of substance use disorder treatment records, add notification requirements in the event of a breach, and provide protections from discrimination for people seeking and receiving treatment.

Argument in favor

This bipartisan bill ensures doctors know what they need to about their patient’s past drug abuse treatment to avoid unnecessarily putting them in a position to relapse while strengthening health records privacy rules that’d cover this information.

Argument opposed

This bill doesn’t do enough to protect patient privacy regarding their substance abuse treatment and punish improper disclosures. Alternatively, a person’s past treatment for drug abuse shouldn’t be included in their health record at all.

Impact

Patients with past drug abuse treatment and their doctors; and health records regulators.

Cost of H.R. 6082

The CBO estimates that enacting this bill would cost $1 million over the 2019-2023 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) introduced this bill to give doctors access to information about a patient’s past treatment for drug abuse and addiction by updating HIPAA:

“In order to responsibly diagnose patients, doctors need to know the whole story about their patient’s medical history. Currently, doctors do not have access to crucial information in a patient’s medical history such as previous treatment for drug abuse and addiction, making it difficult to safely and holistically treat the patient. The Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act updates an outdated law to give doctors the whole story on their patient’s medical history and ensure that a patient with a history of opioid abuse isn’t treated with opioids.”

Original cosponsor Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) added:

“My Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act would make sure substance abuse treatment records are included in the medical record, while also strengthening privacy standards to protect patients’ personal treatment information. Recently, that legislation passed out of Committee, and it’s one step closer to becoming law. This is a small step forward, but it’s a sign of progress.”

This legislation passed the House Energy & Commerce Committee on a 34-17 vote.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) Press Release
  
• Cosponsoring Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) Press Release
  
• House Energy & Commerce Committee Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate