Again, depends on the state if they have harder statutes than the Feds (AZ has compulsory disclosure for OD situations, MN does not as the Prince example reminds the public which is being changed this session). There is nothing in HIPAA preventing an LEO disclosure if it is declared (even for specious reasons like your example). However, it is up to you on whether or not you comply, unless your state happens to be one that compels you to disclose (DC happens to be a jurisdiction that you have to, it's on their MPJE as it's unusual). That said, should something go wrong because you did not disclose when you were in a legal position to do so through erroneously thinking that you could not, that's something you can get penalized for. It's different to say "your reasons are not compelling me to think that this is a useful disclosure", and that's fine, but it is quite another to say that disclosure is illegal when it isn't. On the other hand, kicking the upstairs is usually ok, except in imminent emergencies, wh
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/f...ergency/final_hipaa_guide_law_enforcement.pdf
For your specious example:
• To report PHI to a law enforcement official reasonably able to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of an individual or the public.
That's arguably a good reason to disclose if you think driving high would be a serious threat. If you don't think that the reason is good enough, that's ok, but it can be good enough. What a warrant does is pretty much puts the judicial authority as the responsible party, but hilariously enough, I'm pretty sure that your legal departments do not allow pharmacists directly to serve pursuant to a warrant; those are handled by Headquarters as there's considerations to worry about that might have the company resist on grounds (Walgreens and CVS have that policy the last time I checked).
Again, information is treated very differently than intervention. There's rarely a hard stop for law enforcement to request information, and immediate circumstances can compel the matter as well as state statute. The only thing I would do is compel the uniformed LEO to make the request in writing in front of me with the reason (I don't take telephone requests due to spoofing) and sign with his authority number. Anyone has questions about it, I have it written down as a temporal matter and that would be hard to override.
That nurse actually faced a very different situation than information. Blood draws have always fallen into the search and seizure areas as an intervention (and for that reason, there is always a protocol involved). The equivalent sort of request to us would be to wake someone up with amphetamines and naloxone, which while it can be compelled, that does need a court order to execute as that is an intervention.
