Disclosure to Law Enforcement

• Local health departments typically want to cooperate with law enforcement officials but are sometimes constrained by federal or state confidentiality laws, which may prohibit a disclosure altogether, or may allow it but only if certain conditions are met.
• Local health departments may disclose protected health information (PHI) to law enforcement officials only if the disclosure is specifically allowed by all confidentiality laws that apply to the information which may include any or all of the following:
  
  • The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule
  • North Carolina confidentiality laws, such as the state statute that limits the disclosure of communicable disease information
  • Any other applicable federal laws that address the confidentiality of the information, such as the federal regulation restricting the disclosure of information about Title X family planning clients