Recent shootings and gun violence have put the debate over gun control legislation in the forefront once again.
In a new viewpoint in JAMA Psychiatry, Tony Yang, associate professor of health administration and policy, Charles G. Kels of the American Medical Association and the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and Jennifer A. Bernstein of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, examine the recently finalized regulation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to enable disclosures to the federal background check system under certain circumstances.
The authors explore the link between mental health records and firearms background checks and the implications for psychiatrists as one of the nine categories of people prohibited from possessing or receiving firearms or ammunition is known as the “federal mental health prohibitor.”
The goal of the new HHS legislation is to authorize certain disclosures about the mental health prohibitor to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is used by licensed firearms sellers to determine a prospective firearms buyer’s eligibility under the law. The authors conclude that the ultimate success of the new HHS regulation depends on making sure patients continue to seek care and communicate with their psychiatrists through educational initiatives. Read the full commentary.