The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (?ãHHS?ÃÂ¥) issued guidance explaining that for purposes of the HIPAA privacy rule, the term ?ãspouse?ÃÂ¥ includes individuals who are in a legally valid same-sex marriage sanctioned by a state, territory, or foreign jurisdiction; the term ?ãmarriage?ÃÂ¥ includes both same-sex and opposite-sex marriages; and the term ?ãfamily member?ÃÂ¥ includes dependents of those marriages. Legally married same-sex spouses, regardless of where they live, are family members for the purposes of applying rules permitting HIPAA covered entities to share an individual?ÃÃs protected health information with a family member of the individual.
The HHS guidance can be found here.
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Application of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Same-Sex Marriages
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