Scottsdale MMJ Card

Marijuana Employer privacy in Scottsdale and Statewide laws

Employers do not have to know!

With an Arizona Medical Marijuana Card, you are protected under the law. Medicine and a patients health is confidentiality between the patient and the doctor. In many cases, employers will not know if you have a Scottsdale MMJ card, even if you get drug tested with a marijuana drug test! (Speak to the doctor for further information and refer to the AZ laws posted below.)

A.R.S. § 36-664

Confidentiality; exceptions

A health care provider or other person who obtains communicable disease information in the course of providing health care services, or obtains that information from a health care provider must not disclose the information or be compelled to disclose the information except under the following circumstances:To the protected person or that person’s health care decision maker if that person lacks the mental capacity to consent;

  • To the Department of Health or local public health department in order to notify a “good Samaritan” as explained further below;
  • To an agent or employee of a health care facility or health care provider to provide health care services to the protected person or the person’s child, or for purposes of billing or reimbursement;
  • To a health care facility or health care provider for procurement, processing, distribution, or use of human body or parts for medical education, research, therapy, or transplantation;
  • To a health care facility or provider or other organization involved in the review of professional practices, including the quality, necessity, utilization of care, or a peer review organization or group;
  • To a private entity that accredits a health care facility or provider and with whom the provider has an agreement to protect the confidentiality of health care information;
  • To a federal, state, county or local health officer if disclosure is required by federal or state law;
  • To a federal, state or local government agency authorized to receive such information, and is authorized to redisclose the information only based on relevant law;
  • To an authorized employee or agent of a federal, state or local government agency that supervises or monitors the health care provider or facility or administers a relevant health care program;
  • To a person, health care provider or facility as ordered by court order;
  • To an industrial commission or parties to such claim;
  • Insurance entities and third party payors;
  • To any person authorized by the protected person;
  • To any person entity authorized by federal law;
  • The legal representative of the person or entity holding the information;
  • To a person or entity conducting research pursuant to federal and state laws governing research;
  • To a person or entity with whom the provider or health care facility has a business associate agreement under HIPAA.

The Department of Economic Security may request and have disclosed communicable disease information, including HIV information, relevant to an adoption, child placement or pursuant to a court ordered arrangement.

A state, county or local health official may disclose communicable disease information if the disclosure is any of the following:

  • Specifically required or authorized pursuant to state or federal law;
  • Made pursuant to an authorization signed by the protected person or person’s representative;
  • Made to a contact of the protected person, as long as it does not identify the patient;
  • Made for research purposes in accordance with state and federal law.

The director of the Department may authorize the disclosure of identifying information to the national center on health statistics in order to conduct a search of the national death index.

A good Samaritan who requests information on communicable disease information may receive that information from the Department, pursuant to a request that includes the nature of the accident or emergency and the nature of the significant exposure risk. The Department must adopt rules that ensure that the name of the protected person is not disclosed to the good Samaritan and that the good Samaritan is made aware of the confidentiality requirements of state law.

The patient or the patient’s representative must sign a written authorization before communicable disease information is disclosed. The authorization must be signed, dated, include to whom disclosure is authorized, the purpose of the disclosure, and the time period it is valid for. An authorization for general medical information or communicable disease information cannot be used for disclosure of HIV information, which requires its own authorization. A person to whom communicable disease information is disclosed must not redislose the information. This law does not prohibit the listing of the communicable disease or HIV in a death certificate, autopsy report, or other document to display the cause of death.

If a person holding HIV related information reasonably believes a third party is at risk of HIV, the person may report that risk to the Department. The report must be in writing and include the name and address of the identifiable third party and the name and address of the person writing the report. The Department must contact the person at risk in accordance with the Department’s rules. Except as provided in this law or pursuant to a search warrant, a person who comes across HIV related information in the course of providing a health care service may not disclose this information to another person or be compelled by a subpoena, court order, or other judicial instrument.

A.R.S. § 36-125.05

Uniform patient reporting system; statistical and demographic reports; exemption

The Department of Health must implement a uniform patient reporting system for hospital inpatient and emergency department services. Hospitals must report inpatient statistical data to promote cost containment. Data to be reported for all inpatient services include:

  1. The number of confinements;
  2. The average length of stay;
  3. The average charge per day;
  4. The average charge per confinement.

The Department must further categorize these data by 1) discharge diagnoses; 2) groupings of related diagnoses; 3) groupings of related diagnoses with similar confinement periods; or 4) any other similar groups the Department determines.

Hospital emergency departments must report statistical data to promote cost containment. Data required to be reported by a hospital emergency department includes:

  1. Date of service;
  2. Surgical procedures;
  3. Related diagnosis;
  4. Charges for services.

The Department may also require the hospital inpatient and emergency department services to report other clinical and demographic information on patient age, sex, or insurance coverage.

State hospitals are exempt from the reporting requirements. Data from the period between January 1 – June 30 must be reported on August 15 of that year. Data from the period between July 1- December 31 must be reported by February 15 of the following year.

All reports will be open to public inspection at the Department. The Department must ensure that public access to the information does not breach the confidentiality of privileged medical information or privileged information about the individual’s work or income.

The Department may further investigate the data submitted to ensure accuracy and completeness of the information. The Department will bear the cost of further investigation, unless the Department finds that the records are deficient or incorrect, in which case the facility will bear the cost.|

Confidential records; immunity – Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 36-509

Records and information relating to the mental health of an individual are confidential and privileged to the patient, and may only be disclosed in accordance with the statute.

Disclosure With Consent:
A patient, or a patient’s health care decision maker, may consent to the disclosure of information relating to their mental health in writing.

Disclosure Without Consent:
Mental health information may be disclosed without a patient’s consent under the following circumstances:
· To other providers for treatment purposes
· For research purposes, provided that the research is conducted in accordance with applicable state and federal law
· To the Department of Corrections with regard to a prisoner who is also a patient at the state hospital
· Disclosure to law enforcement is permitted under three circumstances:
o Enforcement for purposes of securing the return of a patient who is not authorized to leave the premises of a treatment facility
o To report a crime on the facility premises
o “Avert a serious and imminent threat to an individual or the public”
· To persons actively participating in caring for the patient, provided that the disclosure is limited to the extent necessary
· In a professional negligence investigation, or in connection with licensing
· When required or permitted by certain laws, such as when in connection with an involuntary commitment proceeding as permitted by that statute, or as required by the sexually violent persons statute
· To third party payers, or to business associates
· As permitted by HIPAA.

Disclosure Pursuant to Court Order:
Confidential information may be disclosed pursuant to a court order. Providers are not liable for attempting to comply with the statute in good faith.

Our Team

If any questions get unanswered, feel free to call our team about Marijuana employer privacy in Scottsdale and state wide at:

480.626.1888

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