Breaking Down the Imaginary HIPAA Barrier 

A question often asked by hospital administrators is: “Can we legally share data with our EMS partners?”. There’s a good reason that question is asked – medical privacy laws can be complex to interpret, and guidelines are updated with such frequency that it can be challenging to recall all the rules and regulations.  

However, the simple answer to the above question is yes. Hospitals and EMS agencies can absolutely exchange data, including diagnoses, lab results, and other outcome data without violating medical privacy laws such as HIPAA.  

The National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) and law firm Page, Wolfberg & Wirth (PWW) have put together a comprehensive whitepaper, “An Imaginary Barrier: How HIPAA Promotes Bidirectional Patient Exchange with Emergency Medical Services” outlining:  

• Importance of Bidirectional Data Sharing 
• Guidelines for COVID-19, ET3 and Opioid Response  
• How HIPAA and Federal Agencies Promote Bidirectional Patient Data Sharing  
• Steps for Sharing Patient Data Securely Between EMS and Hospital Facilities  

Access your copy here or fill out the form to your right to receive the document straight to your inbox.