What HIPAA rules are necessary for media crews in hospitals during the pandemic? 6 ORC clarifications

The Office for Civil Rights issued guidance on HIPAA rules regarding media and film crews in their facilities during the pandemic.

Six details:

1. HHS previously relaxed enforcing some HIPAA regulations during the pandemic to promote information sharing between healthcare organizations and public health officials. However, the relaxed guidelines do not change HIPAA's regulations around media coverage.

2. Healthcare providers must still obtain valid HIPAA authorization for each patient whose protected health information is accessible to the media before media members are able to access the information.

3. It is not sufficient to mask or obscure patients' faces or identifying information before broadcasting a recording of the patient, according to the ORC guidance. Providers must still obtain HIPAA authorization prior to media access.

4. Healthcare providers can't require a patient to sign HIPAA authorization as a condition of treatment.

5. Media crews can film an interview with a healthcare provider in areas where patients' PHI is accessible if every patient who is or will be in the area or accessible to the media signs a valid HIPAA authorization.

6. Healthcare providers are also required to maintain the same level of protection for patient privacy when the media has access to their facilities, even to shoot B-roll film, as before the pandemic. The safeguards could include installing computer monitor privacy screens and setting opaque barriers to block the film crews from PHI for patients who do not sign HIPAA authorizations.