A March 12 article in Bloomberg BNA's Health Care Daily Report, "Privacy Concerns Hit Ride-Hailing Push Into Health Care," discussed issues that Uber and Lyft will need to address in order to ensure compliance with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules when their drivers take patients to and from medical appointments. Day Pitney's Eric Fader was quoted in the article.
Eric pointed out that Uber and Lyft will have the full names of
the patients being driven for billing purposes, and will need to
adopt safeguards to prevent any illegal disclosures. To comply with
HIPAA's "minimum necessary" standard, he added,
individual drivers shouldn't be given more than the
patient's first name and pickup location.
As business associates of the healthcare providers, Uber and Lyft
will also need to enter into business associate agreements and
implement HIPAA policies and procedures.
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