Human Trafficking and HIPAA: What the Health Care Professional Needs to Know

As health-care-professional awareness about human trafficking rises and clinicians recognize their role as first responders to human-trafficking victims, they are thrust into in a unique position at the intersection of health and law. Recent literature indicates that health-care providers have a role to play, but some are reluctant to become engaged. One reason may be a lack of clarity about matters related to patient privacy as delineated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This article lays out key questions and answers, as well as a simple algorithm, to assist the United States-based health-care professional in caring for trafficked patients while complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The article uses four case scenarios to illustrate real situations faced by clinicians when caring for potential human-trafficking patients followed by questions and answers and, where appropriate, quotes from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act