Issues with HIPAA and nursing home care have arisen over disclosure of medical records of deceased residents. Several years ago, a federal appeals court had to decide a case involving HIPAA and nursing home care. The court had to decide whether a Florida medical records law requiring release of PHI of deceased individuals to their spouses or guardians, was preempted by (gave way to) the HIPAA Privacy Rule. A state law is preempted by HIPAA if that state law directly conflicts with HIPAA; that is, the state law is preempted if compliance with both the state and federal law is physically impossible. A state law is also preempted if the state law interferes with the objective of Congress in having passed HIPAA.
The “HIPAA and Nursing Home Care” case hinged on the issue of whether the Florida law permitting PHI disclosure had to give way to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which requires that PHI remain protected for 50 years after a patient’s death, with certain exceptions.
In this case, Opis Management Resources, LLC v. Secretary, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, a Florida law required nursing homes to disclose the medical records of deceased residents to certain individuals (spouses and attorneys-in-fact) who requested them.
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