Families and healthcare professionals often have questions about what information can be shared when a client needs emergency medical care, or when the client is in crisis, incapacitated, or poses a serious and imminent threat of harm to themselves or others. The resources in this section are meant to clarify what information can be shared, and with whom, during an emergency situation or when an imminent threat of harm exists.
Guidance issued by HHS explaining when a health care provider has a duty to notify family or law enforcement authorities if a provider believes that a patient may hurt themselves or others.
Guidance issued by OCR explaining how health care providers have broad abilities to share PHI of patients experiencing crisis situations, such as an opioid overdose, with family members without violating HIPAA privacy regulations.