§ 2.11 - Definitions.

§ 2.11 Definitions.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 12618, Feb. 16, 2024.

For purposes of the regulations in this part:

Breach has the same meaning given that term in 45 CFR 164.402.

Business associate has the same meaning given that term in 45 CFR 160.103.

Central registry means an organization which obtains from two or more member programs patient identifying information about individuals applying for withdrawal management or maintenance treatment for the purpose of avoiding an individual's concurrent enrollment in more than one treatment program.

Covered entity has the same meaning given that term in 45 CFR 160.103.

Diagnosis means any reference to an individual's substance use disorder or to a condition which is identified as having been caused by that substance use disorder which is made for the purpose of treatment or referral for treatment.

Disclose means to communicate any information identifying a patient as being or having been diagnosed with a substance use disorder, having or having had a substance use disorder, or being or having been referred for treatment of a substance use disorder either directly, by reference to publicly available information, or through verification of such identification by another person.

Federally assisted —see § 2.12(b).

Informant means an individual:

Health care operations has the same meaning given that term in 45 CFR 164.501.

HIPAA means the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191, as amended by the privacy and security provisions in subtitle D of title XIII of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, Public Law 111-5 (“HITECH Act”).

HIPAA regulations means the regulations at 45 CFR parts 160 and 164 (commonly known as the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Breach Notification, and Enforcement Rules or “HIPAA Rules”).

Informant means a person:

Informant means a person:

(1) Who is a patient or employee of a part 2 program or who becomes a patient or employee of a part 2 program at the request of a law enforcement agency or official; and

(2) Who at the request of a law enforcement agency or official observes one or more patients or employees of the part 2 program for the purpose of reporting the information obtained to the law enforcement agency or official.

Intermediary means a person, other than a part 2 program, covered entity, or business associate, who has received records under a general designation in a written patient consent to be disclosed to one or more of its member participant(s) who has a treating provider relationship with the patient.

Investigative agency means a Federal, state, Tribal, territorial, or local administrative, regulatory, supervisory, investigative, law enforcement, or prosecutorial agency having jurisdiction over the activities of a part 2 program or other person holding records under this part.

Lawful holder means a person who is bound by this part because they have received records as the result of one of the following:

(1) Written consent in accordance with § 2.31 with an accompanying notice of disclosure.

(2) One of the exceptions to the written consent requirements in 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2 or this part.

Maintenance treatment means long-term pharmacotherapy for individuals with substance use disorders that reduces the pathological pursuit of reward and/or relief and supports remission of substance use disorder-related symptoms.

Member program means a withdrawal management or maintenance treatment program which reports patient identifying information to a central registry and which is in the same state as that central registry or is in a state that participates in data sharing with the central registry of the program in question.

Minor, as used in the regulations in this part, means an individual who has not attained the age of majority specified in the applicable state law, or if no age of majority is specified in the applicable state law, the age of 18 years.

Part 2 program means a federally assisted program (federally assisted as defined in § 2.12(b) and program as defined in this section). See § 2.12(e)(1) for examples.

Part 2 program director means:

(1) In the case of a part 2 program that is an individuala natural person, that individualperson.

(2) In the case of a part 2 program that is an entity, the individual person designated as director or managing director, or individual person otherwise vested with authority to act as chief executive officer of the part 2 program.

Patient means any individual who has applied for or been given diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment for a substance use disorder at a part 2 program. Patient includes any individual who, after arrest on a criminal charge, is identified as an individual with a substance use disorder in order to determine that individual's eligibility to participate in a part 2 program. This definition includes both current and former patients. In this part where the HIPAA regulations apply, patient means an individual as that term is defined in 45 CFR 160.103.

Patient identifying information means the name, address, social security Social Security number, fingerprints, photograph, or similar information by which the identity of a patient, as defined in this section, can be determined with reasonable accuracy either directly or by reference to other information. The term does not include a number assigned to a patient by a part 2 program, for internal use only by the part 2 program, if that number does not consist of or contain numbers (such as a social security, or driver's license number) that could be used to identify a patient with reasonable accuracy from sources external to the part 2 program.

Person means an individual, partnership, corporation, federal, state or local government agency, or any other legal entity, (also referred to as “individual or entity”).

Payment has the same meaning given that term in 45 CFR 164.501.

Person has the same meaning given that term in 45 CFR 160.103.

Personal representative means a person who has authority under applicable law to act on behalf of a patient who is an adult or an emancipated minor in making decisions related to health care. Within this part, a personal representative would have authority only with respect to patient records relevant to such personal representation.

Program means:

(1) An individual or entity A person (other than a general medical facility) who that holds itself out as providing, and provides, substance use disorder diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment; or

(2) An identified unit within a general medical facility that holds itself out as providing, and provides, substance use disorder diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment; or

(3) Medical personnel or other staff in a general medical facility whose primary function is the provision of substance use disorder diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment and who are identified as such providers.

Public health authority has the same meaning given that term in 45 CFR 164.501.

Qualified service organization means an individual or entity a person who:

(1) Provides services to a part 2 program, such as data processing, bill collecting, dosage preparation, laboratory analyses, or legal, accounting, population health management, medical staffing, or other professional services, or services to prevent or treat child abuse or neglect, including training on nutrition and child care and individual and group therapy, and

(2) Has entered into a written agreement with a part 2 program under which that individual or entityperson:

(i) Acknowledges that in receiving, storing, processing, or otherwise dealing with any patient records from the part 2 program, it is fully bound by the regulations in this part; and

(ii) If necessary, will resist in judicial proceedings any efforts to obtain access to patient identifying information related to substance use disorder diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment except as permitted by the regulations in this part.

(3) Qualified service organization includes a person who meets the definition of business associate in 45 CFR 160.103, paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), for a part 2 program that is also a covered entity, with respect to the use and disclosure of protected health information that also constitutes a “record” as defined by this section.

Records means any information, whether recorded or not, created by, received, or acquired by a part 2 program relating to a patient (e.g., diagnosis, treatment and referral for treatment information, billing information, emails, voice mails, and texts), and including patient identifying information, provided, however, that information conveyed orally by a part 2 program to a non-part 2 provider provider who is not subject to this part for treatment purposes with the consent of the patient does not become a record subject to this Part part in the possession of the non-part 2 provider provider who is not subject to this part merely because that information is reduced to writing by that non-part 2 providerprovider who is not subject to this part. Records otherwise transmitted by a part 2 program to a non-part 2 provider provider who is not subject to this part retain their characteristic as records in the hands of the non-part 2 providerprovider who is not subject to this part, but may be segregated by that provider. For the purpose of the regulations in this part, records include both paper and electronic records.

Substance use disorder (SUD) means a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms indicating that the individual continues using the substance despite significant substance-related problems such as impaired control, social impairment, risky use, and pharmacological tolerance and withdrawal. For the purposes of the regulations in this part, this definition does not include tobacco or caffeine use.

Substance use disorder (SUD) counseling notes means notes recorded (in any medium) by a part 2 program provider who is a SUD or mental health professional documenting or analyzing the contents of conversation during a private SUD counseling session or a group, joint, or family SUD counseling session and that are separated from the rest of the patient's SUD and medical record. SUD counseling notes excludes medication prescription and monitoring, counseling session start and stop times, the modalities and frequencies of treatment furnished, results of clinical tests, and any summary of the following items: diagnosis, functional status, the treatment plan, symptoms, prognosis, and progress to date.

Third-party payer means an individual or entity who pays and/a person, other than a health plan as defined at 45 CFR 160.103, who pays or agrees to pay for diagnosis or treatment furnished to a patient on the basis of a contractual relationship with the patient or a member of the patient's family or on the basis of the patient's eligibility for federalFederal, state, or local governmental benefits.

Treating provider relationship means that, regardless of whether there has been an actual in-person encounter:

(1) A patient is, agrees to be, or is legally required to be diagnosed, evaluated, and/ or treated, or agrees to accept consultation, for any condition by an individual or entity, and; a person; and

(2) The individual or entity person undertakes or agrees to undertake diagnosis, evaluation, and/ or treatment of the patient, or consultation with the patient, for any condition.

Treatment means the care of a patient suffering from a substance use disorder, a condition which is identified as having been caused by the substance use disorder, or both, in order to reduce or eliminate the adverse effects upon the patient. has the same meaning given that term in 45 CFR 164.501.

Undercover agent means any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency or official who enrolls in or becomes an employee of a part 2 program for the purpose of investigating a suspected violation of law or who pursues that purpose after enrolling or becoming employed for other purposes.

Unsecured protected health information has the same meaning given that term in 45 CFR 164.402.

Unsecured record means any record, as defined in this part, that is not rendered unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized persons through the use of a technology or methodology specified by the Secretary in the guidance issued under Public Law 111-5, section 13402(h)(2).

Use means, with respect to records, the sharing, employment, application, utilization, examination, or analysis of the information contained in such records that occurs either within an entity that maintains such information or in the course of civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings as described at 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2(c).

Withdrawal management means the use of pharmacotherapies to treat or attenuate the problematic signs and symptoms arising when heavy and/or prolonged substance use is reduced or discontinued.

[82 FR 6115, Jan. 18, 2017, as amended at 85 FR 43036, July 15, 2020; 89 FR 12618, Feb. 16, 2024]