Legal Advisor: Reporting Patients to the Registry of Motor Vehicles

Patient Confidentiality

Confidentiality between a physician and patient is protected both by statute and common law with very few exceptions. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) allows reporting in two circumstances when required by law (for example reports of abuse); and when reporting information to public health agencies authorized to collect or receive information for preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability. But there is no law authorizing or requiring physicians to report a patient to the RMV and it is unlikely that the RMV would be considered a public health agency for HIPAA purposes. Consequently, neither of the two general HIPAA exceptions would protect a physician reporting a patient to the RMV from a HIPAA suit. Moreover, the report likely violates Massachusetts common law, which provides greater confidentiality protection than HIPAA. Nevertheless, the RMV accepts reports from physicians regarding their patients.

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