HIPAA and FERPA Intersection: Understanding Educational Records Exclusions

HIPAA and fer pa: understand the relationship between privacy laws

Privacy regulations in healthcare and education can oftentimes create confusion for institutions that operate at the intersection of both fields. Two major federal laws — the health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) and the family educational rights and privacy act (fer pa)—establish different but sometimes overlap privacy protections. A common question that arise is whether HIPAA exclude information consider education records under fer pa law.

Source: kaltmanlaw.com

The answer is: true. HIPAA does so exclude information consider education records under fer pa law.

The basics of HIPAA and fer pa

Before delve into how these laws interact, it’s important to understand what each law cover and protects.

What’s HIPAA?

The health insurance portability and accountability act (hHIPAA)was enenactedn 1996 to provide data privacy and security provisions for safeguard medical information. The HIPAA privacy rule apply to health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers that conduct certain healthcare transactions electronically. These entities are known a” cover entities. ”

HIPAA protect all” separately identifiable health information, ” hich is rereferredo as protected health information( phi). This iincludesinformation about:

• An individual’s past, present, or future physical or mental health condition
• The provision of healthcare to the individual
• Payment for healthcare services
• Information that identify the individual or could jolly be used to identify the individual

What is fer pa?

The family educational rights and privacy act (ffer p) is a federal law enact in 1974 that protect the privacy of student education records. FFer paapply to all educational institutions that receive funds from the U.S. department of education, which include most all public schools and most private schools.

Under fer pa” education records” are ddefinedas records that:

• Contain information forthwith relate to a student
• Are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party act for the agency or institution

These records include, but are not limit to, grades, transcripts, class lists, student course schedules, health records maintain by the educational institution, student financial information, and student disciplinary records.

The exclusion of fer pa records fromHIPAAa

The HIPAA privacy rule explicitly excludes from its coverage those records that areprotectedt fer parpa. This exclusion is understandably state in the definitio” f ” protected health informat” ” in thHIPAAaa regulations.

Specifically, the HIPAA privacy rule at 45 CFR 160.103 defines protect health information to exclude” education records cover by the family educational rights and privacy act, as amend, 20 u.s.c. 1232 g. ”

This mean that health information that would differently be protected undeHIPAAaa is not subject tHIPAAaa regulations if it’s maintain in education records cover bfer papa.

Practical implications of the HIPAA fer pa intersection

For schools and universities

Educational institutions frequently maintain health records on students, peculiarly in the context of:

• School nurse or health services records
• Immunization records
• Records relate to disabilities and accommodations
• Mental health counseling records provide by the educational institution

When these health records are maintained by the educational institution as part of the student’s education records, they’re cover bfer papa, nHIPAApaa. This mean that the educational institution must follfer parpa’s requirements for protect and disclose this information, HIPAAipaa’s requirements.

For university health centers

The situation become more complex for university health centers that provide medical services to students. If a university health center provide healthcare services to students and bills for those services electronically (make it a hHIPAAcover entity ) the question of which law apapply to dependn whether the health records are part of the student’s education records.

Mostly, treatment records at a university health center are considered part of the student’s education records if they’re:

• Make or maintain by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognize professional or paraprofessional
• Make, maintain, or use solely in connection with treatment of the student
• Disclose solely to individuals provide the treatment

In such cases, these records are excluded fromHIPAAa and are rather protect underfer paa.

When both laws might apply

There be situations where both HIPAA and fer pa might apply to different aspects of a student’s records:

• If a student visit an off campus healthcare provider, those medical records are cover by HIPAA, not fer pa.
• If a student visits the university health center and the center bills insurance electronically, the billing records may be cover byHIPAAa, while the treatment records may be cover byfer paa.
• If a university employ students in its health clinic, the students’ employment records are not education records under fer pa, and any health information in those employment records might be cover byHIPAAa.

Exceptions and special considerations

Treatment records exception

Fer pa include an exception fo” treatment records,” which are records that:

• Are make or maintain by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognize professional or paraprofessional act in their professional capacity or assist in a paraprofessional capacity
• Are make, maintain, or use solely in connection with the provision of treatment to the student
• Are not available to anyone other than persons provide such treatment, except that such records can be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the student’s choice

These treatment records are excluded from the definition o” education records” under ffer pa but they’re to exclude from hHIPAAif they’re mmaintainedby an educational institution. Thiscreatese a category of records that are technicallgovernedrn by neither law in their original form but become subjectfer paerpa if thedisclosedclose to anyone other than the treat professionals.

HIPAA cover components within educational institutions

Some educational institutions have components that function as healthcare providers and engage in HIPAA cover transactions, such as university hospitals. In these cases, the educational institution may designate itself as a” hybrid entity ” nder hiHIPAAwith some components cover by hiHIPAAnd others not.

The health records maintain by the HIPAA cover components would be subject to HIPAA, not fer pa, still if they relate to students.

Compliance challenges and best practices

Identify which law apply

Educational institutions oftentimes face challenges in determine whether HIPAA or fer pa apply to specific records. To address this, institutions should:

• Clear identify which components of the institution are cover by HIPAA
• Establish policies and procedures for handle health information that distinguish between HIPAA cover and fer pa cover records
• Train staff on the differences between HIPAA and fer pa and when each apply
• Implement appropriate security measures for both HIPAA cover and fer pa cover records

Consent and authorization

Both HIPAA and fer pa require consent or authorization for the disclosure of protect information, but the requirements differ:

• Fer pa loosely requires write consent for the disclosure of education records, with certain exceptions
• HIPAA require a detailed authorization for the disclosure of protect health information, with specific elements that must be included

Educational institutions should develop clear consent forms that meet the requirements of the applicable law.

Coordination with outside healthcare providers

Educational institutions oftentimes need to coordinate with outside healthcare providers regard student health issues. In these cases:

• The outside provider’s records are cover by HIPAA
• The educational institution’s records are cover by fer pa

This requires careful coordination and appropriate consent or authorization for the sharing of information between the two entities.

Common misconceptions about HIPAA and fer pa

Misconception: all health records are cover by HIPAA

Many people assume that all health records, disregardless of where they’re maintained, are cover bHIPAAaa. This is not true. Health records maintain by educational institutions as part of education records are cover bfer papa, nHIPAApaa.

Misconception: fer pa solely covers academic records

Another common misconception is that fer pa exclusively cover academic records like grades and transcripts. In reality,fer paa cover all education records, which can include health records, counseling records, and othenon-academicic information maintain by the educational institution.

Source: studentprivacycompass.org

Misconception: HIPAA and fer pa have the same requirements

While both HIPAA and fer pa protect privacy,they havee different requirements for consent, disclosure, and security. Educational institutions need to understand these differences to ensure compliance with the applicable law.

Recent developments and guidance

The U.S. department of health and human services (hHHS)and the u.U.S.epartment of education have issue joint guidance to help educational institutions understand the relationship between hiHIPAAnd fefer paThis guidance clarifies:

• When HIPAA apply and when fer pa apply
• How to handle specific situations, such as immunization records and emergencies
• Best practices for compliance with both laws

Educational institutions should regularly review this guidance and update their policies and procedures consequently.

Conclusion: navigate the HIPAA fer pa intersection

In summary, it’s true that HIPAA exclude information consider education records under fer pa law. This exclusioncreatese a clear delineation between the two laws in most cases, but there be complex situations where determine which laapply to requirere careful analysis.

Educational institutions that deal with student health information must understand both laws and develop policies and procedures that ensure compliance with the applicable law in each situation. By understand the relationship between HIPAA and fer pa, institutions can protect student privacy whileto ensuree appropriate access to information for legitimate educational and healthcare purposes.

For institutions and professionals work at the intersection of education and healthcare, ongoing training and attention to regulatory updates are essential to maintain compliance with these important privacy laws.