Two HHS agencies have published answers to frequently asked questions in an attempt to clarify how records of patients' treatment for alcohol and drug abuse can be shared electronically. A federal law that predates HIPAA prohibits disclosure of such records without patient consent. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration now say that records pertaining to substance abuse can be shared on a health information exchange if treatment programs obtain patient consent to disclose their information to HIEs and their technology partners. Patients also must consent for HIEs to redistribute records to specific participating providers, and patients must be told the nature of each disclosure. FierceEMR