Hunton Andrews Kurth writes:
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently delegated authority to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) to enforce new privacy rules governing substance use disorder treatment records, which are set to take effect in early 2026.
In a Statement of Delegation of Authority, HHS assigned OCR the responsibility of enforcing the regulations set forth in 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (“Part 2 Regulations”), which govern the privacy and confidentiality of substance use disorder treatment (“SUD”) records (“Part 2 records”). This responsibility previously was assigned to HHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The Part 2 Regulations protect the privacy of individuals treated for SUD. Specifically, the Part 2 Regulations protect “[r]ecords of the identity, diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of any patient which are maintained in connection with the performance of any program or activity relating to substance use disorder education, prevention, training, treatment, rehabilitation, or research, which is conducted, regulated, or directly or indirectly assisted by any department or agency of the United States.”
Read more at Privacy & Information Security Law Blog.