Jeremy Walsh writes in the Times Ledger:
Officers responding to deal with David Tarloff, a mentally ill Corona resident accused of murdering a Manhattan therapist, may not have had access to Tarloff’s history with police or medical history in the months leading up to the slaying, police suggested during a City Council hearing.
The hearing, held jointly by the Mental Health and Public Safety committees, examined police procedure for dealing with emotionally disturbed persons. City Council members criticized a lack of information sharing, starting with what regular patrol officers can access when responding to an EDP call.
[…]
Susan Petito, NYPD assistant commisioner of government relations, said the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and state confidentiality laws are responsible for the hurdle.
“I don’t think the City Council can do much,” she said.
“HIPAA is a major barrier,” said Councilman Oliver Koppell (D-Brooklyn), chairman of the Mental Health Commitee. “But it’s a law, and the law can be changed.” He suggested petitioning Congress about the issue.
But John Gresham, an attorney with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, said HIPAA already contains a law enforcement exception allowing – but not requiring – a health care provider to share patient information for law enforcement purposes. He said such a provision also exists in state confidentiality laws.
“I don’t know that you need to change either,” he said.
Read More – Times Ledger