Privacy and Confidentiality Protections: issues surrounding the Opioid Crisis webinar Nov 29

Thursday, November 29, 1 – 230 MT: Privacy and Confidentiality Protections: Substance Use Disorders and the Opioid Crisis.  The next call from the Region VIII Opioid Misuse Consultation Team will include speakers from the Office for Civil Rights and from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and will focus on HIPAA and 42 CFR as applied to substance use treatment issues.  Pre-registration is not required.

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AGENDA (all times mountain)

1:00 – 1:05 pm:  Welcome and housekeeping  (Christina Mead or Charlie Smith)

1:05 – 1:30 pm:  HIPAA PRIVACY RULE: OCR will provide an overview of how the HIPAA Privacy Rule protects information regarding substance use and abuse and how it allows for information sharing that is necessary to aid in treatment.  Specifically, OCR will discuss the access provisions of the Privacy Rule, as well as OCR’s guidance related to opioid overdose and sharing information related to mental health.

• Speaker:  Emily Prehm, J.D., Equal Opportunity Specialist, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, Rocky Mountain Region. Emily Prehm is an Equal Opportunity Specialist with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Rocky Mountain Region in Denver, Colorado.  She began working with OCR in 2002 as a Legal Intern.  Emily received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and is licensed to practice law in the state of Colorado.

1:30-1:55 pm:  42 CFR Part 2: Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records is a Federal law that protects and ensures the rights of patients receiving treatment for a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) so that they do not face adverse consequences as a result of their SUD treatment such as arrest, child custody, divorce or employment proceedings. This presentation will briefly review the components of 42 CFR Part 2 and considerations relative to community and provider responses to the opioid epidemic.

• Speaker: Charles H. Smith, Ph.D., Regional Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming). Dr. Smith is the Regional Administrator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Region VIII.  Dr. Smith is the former Director of the Colorado Division of Behavioral Health and Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse for the State of Colorado.  Dr. Smith is a Licensed Psychologist with over 25 years of experience in fields of forensic psychology, addictions, suicide prevention, crisis intervention, behavioral health policy and administration. 

1:55-2:15 pm: State and Federal Leadership comments and announcements
2:15-2:30 pm: Discussion and Q&A
2:30 pm: Adjourn