For the first time in nearly three decades, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has updated the regulations on the confidentiality of substance abuse treatment records found in 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (the Part 2 Regulations). Originally scheduled to be effective February 17, 2017, SAMSHA announced on February 16, 2017, that the revised rules will now be effective March 21, 2017, pursuant to the terms of the regulatory freeze issued by the Trump administration on January 20, 2017. Substance use disorder treatment providers and other lawful holders of protected information should take the opportunity offered by the regulatory freeze to ensure their policies and procedures on patient confidentiality, consent documents, and re-disclosure statements are in compliance with the new requirements before they become effective.
*This alert was originally posted on Arent Fox's Health Care Counsel blog. To read this alert in its entirety, please click here.