Balancing Data Privacy With Access to Health Services and Research: Facilitating Confidential Information Sharing in US Multisystem Collaborations

Abstract

This article addresses data privacy issues as they relate to multisystem collaborations for prearrest deflection into treatment and services for those suffering from a substance use disorder. The authors explore how the US data privacy regulations pose barriers to collaboration and care coordination and how data privacy regulations affect researchers’ ability to evaluate the impact of interventions intentioned to facilitate access to care. Fortunately, this regulatory landscape is evolving to strike a balance between protecting health information and sharing it for research, evaluation, and operations, including comments on the newly proposed federal administrative rule that will shape the future of deflection and health access in the United States.