Coronavirus News: Coronavirus Declared Public Health Emergency
On January 31, 2020, following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) to declare the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the federal government declared that the coronavirus presents a Public Health Emergency in the United States. Details of this latest Coronavirus news, and of what emergency measures have been put in place, are discussed below.
Coronavirus News: What is the Scope of the Public Health Emergency?
In the latest coronavirus news, as of February 2, 2020, 5 PM EST, the federal government, under the Coronavirus Public Health Emergency Declaration, has instituted the following measures to detect and contain the coronavirus:
- Any U.S. citizen returning to the U.S. who has been in Hubei Province, China, in the previous 14 days, will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine, to ensure they are provided proper medical care and health screening.
- Any U.S. citizen returning to the U.S. who has been in the rest of mainland China within the previous 14 days will undergo proactive entry health screening at a select number of ports of entry, and up to 14 days of monitored self-quarantine, to ensure they have not contracted the virus and do not pose a public health risk.
- Foreign nationals, other than immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have traveled to China within the last 14 days will be denied entry into the U.S. for this time.
HIPAA and Public Health Emergencies
During a public health emergency, parts of the HIPAA Privacy Rule are relaxed. Covered entities may, under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, disclose PHI without a patient’s written authorization, to public health authorities legally authorized to receive it, for these purposes:
- The purpose of preventing or controlling disease;
- The purpose of preventing or controlling injury;
- The purpose of preventing or controlling disability.
Disease, injury, and disability prevention and control measures and activities include:
- Reporting of disease or injury;
- Reporting of vital events (i.e., births, deaths); and
- Conducting public health surveillance, investigations, or interventions. The quarantine measures and denial of entry measures mentioned above are interventions.
Covered entities may also, if directed to do so by a public health authority, disclose PHI to a foreign government agency acting in collaboration with that authority. Covered entities that ARE public authorities may use and disclose PHI for:
- The purpose of preventing or controlling disease;
- The purpose of preventing or controlling injury;
- The purpose of preventing or controlling disability.
U.S. and Chinese public health authorities are collaborating to prevent the spread of the virus. This collaboration allows the authorities to disclose PHI between themselves.
Does the Minimum Necessary Standard Apply During Public Health Emergencies?
Under the HIPAA minimum necessary standard, covered entities must make reasonable efforts to ensure that access to protected health information (PHI) is limited, per the HIPAA Privacy Rule, to the minimum amount of information necessary to fulfill or satisfy the intended purpose of a particular disclosure, request, or use. The covered entity must exercise its best judgment, on a case-by-case basis, as to what constitutes the minimum amount of disclosure of PHI needed.
For disclosures to a public health authority, the minimum necessary rule applies, but with a twist: covered entities may reasonably rely on a minimum necessary determination made by the public health authority that is requesting the protected health information.
