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Privacy and Confidentiality in Maine

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Maine law states that individual health care information is confidential and may not be disclosed other than to the individual, except in limited circumstances.1  In addition, the law allows disclosure of health information without a patient’s authorization in certain circumstances.2  Confidential information may be released if the individual authorizes it or as part of the state’s mandatory health data reporting requirements.3   The health information of a minor must also remain confidential, however, the law authorizes providers to disclose information to a minor’s parent or guardian if not disclosing would jeopardize the minor’s health.4

Maine restricts the disclosure of personal information by a health insurance company to specific circumstances and requires the consent of the individual.5  The law requires that information obtained by a health maintenance organization be kept confidential and cannot be disclosed unless otherwise required by Maine law or if the individual authorizes its release.6  The state similarly restricts the disclosure of confidential Medicaid information to specific entities.7

Other records, such as those belonging to the Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO) may be released to the public once the records have been de-identified and do not contain any confidential information. 8   Information obtained during a peer review process within a hospital, and later transferred to the State Board of Medicine must also confidential.9  The state has a specific law that protects the confidentiality of HIV testing results,10 and a law that governs the release of HIV information contained in a patient’s medical record.11  Also, miscarriage and abortion data that is reported to the State must not identify the patient.12   In the event of an outbreak or public health emergency, certain medical information may be released to private health care providers and health agencies for the purposes of carrying out public health functions.13

 

Footnotes

  • 1. 10-144-253 ME. CODE R. § 2; 10-144-110 ME. CODE R. § 19.I.
  • 2. 10-144-253 ME. CODE R. §6
  • 3. 10-144-253 ME. CODE R. § 2; 10-144-253 ME. CODE R. § 6; ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22, § 815
  • 4. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22, § 1502
  • 5. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 24-A §2215
  • 6. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22, § 4224
  • 7. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22 §1828
  • 8.   90-590-120 ME. CODE R. § 3; ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22, § 8707
  • 9. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 24 §2510; ME. REV. STAT. tit. 24 §2510-A
  • 10. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 5 §19203
  • 11. ME. REV. STAT. Tit. 5 §19203-D
  • 12. ME. REV. STAT.. tit. 22, § 1596(2); ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22, § 1596(3)
  • 13. ME. REV. STAT. tit. 22, § 824    

 

Privacy and Confidentiality in Maine

Subtopic Statute/Regulation Description
Privacy and Confidentiality Abortion and miscarriage data - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 1596 For each miscarriage that occurs, a report must be made by the physician in attendance on forms prescribed by the Department of Health and Human...
Abortion and miscarriage data - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 1596 For every abortion performed in Maine, a report must be made to the Department of Health and Human Services on forms prescribed by the department....
Advisory Board - 10-144-253 Me. Code R. § 6 A health care practitioner or facility may disclose, or when required by law must disclose, health care information without authorization in certain...
Assessments, Service Plans and Consumer Records - 10-144-117 Me. Code R. § 8 Every person attending an adult day service program must have a comprehensive written assessment.  It must be given starting no later than the...
Confidential and Privileged Information - 10-144-114 Me. Code R. § 7 Notifications and reports of sentinel events, and all information collected or developed as a result of the filing, regardless of format, are...
Confidential records - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 24A, § 6907 Any personally identifiable financial information, supporting data or tax return of any person obtained by Dirigo Health is confidential and not open...
Confidentiality - 10-144-110 Me. Code R. § 19.I The Skilled Nursing Facility must keep confidential all information contained in the resident's records, regardless of the form or storage method of...
Confidentiality - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 824 Any person who receives information regarding reported notifiable disease records must treat as confidential the names of individuals having or...
Confidentiality - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 32, § 1092-A Patients have the privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent others from disclosing, confidential communications made for the purpose of...
Confidentiality of and Access to Mental Health Records - 14-472-1 Me. Code R. § 1 This regulation provides for the confidentiality of records pertaining to mental health patients who are children. Mental health information is...
Confidentiality of information - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 24, § 2510 Any reports or information received by the Board of Medicine regarding the adverse actions of a provider must remain confidential, except for data...
Confidentiality of Information - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 34-B § 1207 Mental health information is confidential and privileged to the patient, except as provided for in the statute or other regulation.  ...
Confidentiality of prescription drug information - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 1711-E(2)-(2A) A carrier or prescription drug information intermediary may not license, use, sell, transfer or exchange for value, for any marketing purpose,...
Confidentiality of professional competence review records - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 24, § 2510-A All professional competence review (peer review) records must remain confidential and are not subject to subpoena or discovery in judicial...
Confidentiality of Reported Data - 10-144-254 Me. Code R. § 5 Individual names and related information which may identify individuals as having an occupational disease is confidential and may be released only to...
Confidentiality of test - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 5, § 19203 No person may disclose the results of an HIV test except to the following: The subject of the test; A health care provider designated by the...
Confidentiality of the Maine Chronic Disease Surveillance Data Quality and Follow-Up Study - 10-144-253 Me. Code R. § 2 The Department of Human Services (and all departments, agencies, commissions or boards of the State) must be given access to all confidential reports...
Confidentiality protection for certain health care practitioners - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 8713 The Maine Health Data Organization must establish procedures to allow providers to file for confidentiality protection. However, the procedures must...
Confidentiality; liability; access to records - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 4224 Any data or information pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment or health of an enrollee or applicant obtained by a health maintenance organization...
Consent - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 1502 Except as otherwise provided by law, a minor who may consent to health care services is entitled to the same confidentiality afforded to adults....
Disclosure limitations and conditions - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 24-A, § 2215 A health insurance entity may not disclose personal information unless it is made in conjunction with the affected consumer and is limited to the...
Equitable health care for alcoholism and drug dependency treatment - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 24-A, § 2842 Substance abuse treatment records are confidential, with no disclosure exception.
Identifying information - 10-144-253 Me. Code R. § 5 Every individual's health care information is confidential and may not be disclosed other than to the individual by the health care practitioner or...
Judicial consent to blood-borne pathogen test - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 832 Any person who experiences a bona fide occupational exposure to another person’s blood or bodily fluids may petition the District Court with...
Privileged or confidential communications - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 815 The physician-patient and psychotherapist-patient privileges under the Maine Rules of Evidence and other confidential communications are waived to...
Public Access to Data - 90-590-120 Me. Code R. § 3 Unless otherwise specified, all Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO) records may be released to any person.  This includes clinical data that...
Public access to data - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 8707 The Maine Health Data Organization’s board of directors must make provisions to allow any member of the public to gain access to information...
Records - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 5, § 19203-D Maine has specific rules governing the release of HIV information contained in a patient’s medical record.  The law requires a patient who...
Records - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 5, § 20047 Substance abuse treatment records are confidential; however, the commissioner may access to patient records for research purposes, provided that...
Records; disclosure - Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 1828 The Department of Human Services may release confidential Medicaid information from hospitals or nursing homes to the following: Employees of...
Confidentiality of substance abuse records 10-144 CMR Ch. 101, Ch. II, § 80, Pharmacy Services
22 M.R.S.A. § 1711-C, Confidentiality of Health Care Information
Click on the individual state law in the table above to see our summary of the individual law.


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