This bill establishes strict privacy protections for an individual's pregnancy termination or loss information, prohibiting its disclosure in federal, state, local, or tribal proceedings without the individual's valid authorization . Limited exceptions permit disclosure for defense in professional liability actions against a covered entity or business associate, or to investigate physical harm to the individual directly related to the pregnancy loss or termination if the individual is unable to consent due to death or incapacity. The legislation mandates the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise HITECH regulations to clarify that withholding such information to comply with these privacy rules is not considered information blocking . It also requires health IT developers to implement practices for segregating this sensitive data. Furthermore, the bill preempts state laws that conflict with these new protections, while explicitly allowing state laws that offer greater privacy, and requires an outreach campaign to inform the public and healthcare entities about these changes.
This bill establishes strict privacy protections for an individual's pregnancy termination or loss information, prohibiting its disclosure in federal, state, local, or tribal proceedings without the individual's valid authorization . Limited exceptions permit disclosure for defense in professional liability actions against a covered entity or business associate, or to investigate physical harm to the individual directly related to the pregnancy loss or termination if the individual is unable to consent due to death or incapacity. The legislation mandates the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise HITECH regulations to clarify that withholding such information to comply with these privacy rules is not considered information blocking . It also requires health IT developers to implement practices for segregating this sensitive data. Furthermore, the bill preempts state laws that conflict with these new protections, while explicitly allowing state laws that offer greater privacy, and requires an outreach campaign to inform the public and healthcare entities about these changes.