News Archive

Professor Nicolas Terry talked with Politico Pro for a story titled “Gun control regulation hung up on health privacy.” The story was published September 22.

A change in regulation to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act could clear the way for health care providers to share mental health information with the FBI’s firearms background check system. It’s a measure that’s been under consideration by the Obama administration since January.

There is a similar regulation pending with the U.S. Department of Justice. According to Professor Terry, the use of the phrase “mentally defective” in that regulation, could be the source of the delay.

Professor Terry is the Hall Render Professor of Law and executive director of the Hall Center for Law and Health. He also is a member of the Health IT Consumer Workgroup. His research interests lie primarily at the intersection of medicine, law, and information technology. His recent scholarship has dealt with health privacy, social media and health, big data, and health care fragmentation. He is one of the permanent bloggers at HealthLawProf and at Harvard Law School’s Bill of Health.  His recent publications are available on the Social Science Research Network, and he can be followed on Twitter @nicolasterry.