Section 25 Alcohol and Drug Abuse

• Library: Mental Health 2006

The confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient information is mandated by federal laws. 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2; 42 C.F.R. §§ 2.1 et seq. These laws provide for the confidentiality of the identity, diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of any patient that is provided by any federally assisted program that holds itself out as providing alcohol or drug abuse diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment. This includes any general medical care facility that has an identified unit for alcohol or drug abuse diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment or that has staff whose primary function is alcohol or drug abuse diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment. 42 C.F.R. § 2.11.

The scope of the restrictions on disclosure is quite broad. “Records” include any information, whether recorded or not, that relates to a patient who has applied for or has been given a diagnosis or treatment, including any individual who, after arrest on a criminal charge, is identified as an alcohol or drug abuser. 42 C.F.R. § 2.11. No information can be disclosed that would identify a patient as an alcohol or drug abuser or that was obtained for the purpose of treating alcohol or drug abuse, making a diagnosis for treatment, or making a referral for treatment. 42 C.F.R. § 2.12(a)(1). The only exception to the prohibition on disclosure is any reporting that is made under suspected child abuse or neglect. 42 C.F.R. § 2.12(c)(6).

Even the fact that a patient...