Drug and Alcohol Law: Confidentiality Requirements for Hospitals and 2021 Updates
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
9:00 am - 10:30 am CST
Offered Through Partnership with Georgia Hospital Association
OVERVIEW:
This webinar will cover the law on confidentiality of substance use disorder patient’s records under 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2. This law was previously known as the confidentiality of drug abuse and alcohol abuse records. The new law became effective in 2017 with further updates established on February 2, 2018. Additional revisions to the law occurred in 2020 leaving many hospitals struggling to determine how to meet and maintain compliance. This session will assist hospitals in providing clarity to what should be included in policies and procedures, even for hospitals that do not have dedicated units to treat patients with substance abuse disorders, in order to achieve compliance with the law. Finally, the webinar will also discuss patient access to medical records and what must be in the consent form, research, closure of a program, new definitions, minors, deceased patient records, security of medical records, disclosure, when disclosure is prohibited, and more.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
- Recall that the federal law on drug and alcohol records has been rewritten and is now known as confidentiality of substance use disorder records.
- Discuss when a minor can consent to the treatment of substance abuse disorder.
- Explain that a special consent form is needed to release the medical records of a patient treated for substance abuse disorder in a part 2 program.
- Describe when a report of a violation must be reported and to whom.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing Officer, Compliance Officer, Emergency Department Personnel, Joint Commission Coordinator, Medical Records, Quality Improvement personnel, Risk Manager, Legal Counsel.
SPEAKER:
Laura A. Dixon, BS, JD, RN, CPHRM
Laura A. Dixon is the president of Healthcare Risk Education and Consulting. She previously served as the Director, Facility Patient Safety and Risk Management and Operations for COPIC from 2014 to 2020. In her role, Ms. Dixon provided consultation and training to facilities, practitioners and staff in multiple states.
Ms. Dixon has more than twenty years of clinical experience in acute care facilities, including critical care, coronary care, peri-operative services and pain management. Prior to joining COPIC, she served as the Director, Western Region, Patient Safety and Risk Management for The Doctors Company, Napa, California. In this capacity, she provided consultation to the physicians and staff for the western United States.
As a registered nurse and attorney, Laura holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Regis University, a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Drake University College of Law, and a Registered Nurse Diploma from Saint Luke’s School Professional Nursing. She is licensed to practice law in Colorado and California.