Rep. Tim Murphy, PhD, R-Pa., introduced legislation on July 28 to reform the 42 Code of Federal Regulations Part 2, often referred to as "Part 2," which would allow physicians to access patients' history of treatment for substance use disorders.
The Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1972, which created Part 2, was designed to protect patient confidentiality related to substance use. However, lack of access to patients' entire medical history has led physicians to unknowingly prescribe opioids to patients in recovery, according to news release out of Dr. Murphy's office.
The Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act, H.R. 3545, would reform aspects of Part 2 that hinder physicians from sharing patients' addiction treatment histories. The bill aligns Part 2 regulations with confidentiality protections established under HIPAA and strengthens protections for patients who are in recovery.
"Right now, information about a patient's addiction treatment is prohibited from being shared with doctors," said Dr. Murphy, a practicing psychologist. "This deadly segregation of medical records is wreaking havoc on our nation's ability to respond to the ongoing opioid crisis … You cannot treat the whole patient with half of their medical record."
Click here to view the full bill.