To clear up a lot of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 vaccines and HIPAA, HHS published guidelines Sept. 30 for employees and employers to better understand the privacy rule.
Four things to know:
- HIPAA doesn't prohibit businesses or individuals from asking customers about their COVID-19 vaccination status. HIPAA only applies to covered entities, such as hospitals, payers and their business associates.
- HIPAA doesn't prevent individuals from disclosing their vaccination status to business owners or employees of an establishment.
- HIPAA doesn't block a covered entity or business from requiring its employees to disclose their vaccination status to their employers. HIPAA doesn't apply to employment records — even covered entities — when they are acting in their capacity as employers.
- HIPAA does prohibit a physician's office from disclosing protected health information, such as COVID-19 vaccination status, to a patient's employer.
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