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Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
Tue May 19, 2020, 03:40 PM May 2020

COVID-19 data sharing with law enforcement sparks concern

Source: Associated Press


Kimberlee Kruesi, Associated Press
Updated 1:14 pm CDT, Tuesday, May 19, 2020

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More than 11 million people have been tested in the U.S. for COVID-19, all with the assurance that their private medical information would remain protected and undisclosed.

Yet, public officials in at least two-thirds of states are sharing the addresses of people who tested positive with first responders — from police officers to firefighters to EMTs. An Associated Press review found that at least 10 of those states also share the patients' names.

First responders argue the information is vital to helping them take extra precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the coronavirus.

But civil liberty and community activists have expressed concerns of potential profiling in African-American and Hispanic communities that already have an uneasy relationship with law enforcement. Some envision the data being forwarded to immigration officials.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/COVID-19-data-sharing-with-law-enforcement-sparks-15279619.php

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COVID-19 data sharing with law enforcement sparks concern (Original Post) Judi Lynn May 2020 OP
Well that should get the HIPAA lawsuits going bucolic_frolic May 2020 #1
They should be using universal precautions. uppityperson May 2020 #2

bucolic_frolic

(42,676 posts)
1. Well that should get the HIPAA lawsuits going
Tue May 19, 2020, 03:46 PM
May 2020

Health companies face stiff fines for HIPAA violations. Why should this part of health care be any different?

Looks though as if they are granting discretion. See? Government can do anything it wants.

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/hipaa-covid19/index.html

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