myTRICARE.com by PGBA fully complies with the federal law protecting the medical records of TRICARE beneficiaries. According to this law, we cannot discuss the medical history of beneficiaries who are over age 18 without their permission.
If beneficiaries over 18 and want to grant someone else permission to discuss their claims with us, they must send a completed Authorization to Disclose Information form to PGBA. If they want to give someone else access to their personal claims information on our Web site, they can do so through their account in myTRICARE Secure.
The Department of Defense (DoD) also has a Privacy Program Regulation (DoD 5400.11.R at Chap. 4.A.3) to prohibit disclosure of personal information outside the military health program unless:
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the person to whom it pertains has requested the record
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the person to whom the record pertains has given written consent
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the release is for one of the specific nonconsensual purposes set forth in Sect. B of the regulation.
DoD regulation (DoD 5400.ll-R, Chap. 4.B.10) allows for emergency disclosures without consent in specific, compelling situations that affect health or safety.
When such a disclosure is made, notification is sent to the person's last known address. The specific data to be disclosed is at the discretion of releasing authority. Emergency medical information may be released by phone.
Also, records may be released without the individual's consent within the DoD to any DoD official who has need for the information in performance of assigned duties (DoD letter, November 9, 1998).
TRICARE Prime Contractors are also allowed to exchange medical and claims information between contractors regarding enrollment portability when beneficiaries move from region to region (DoD letter, August 17, 1999).
Finally, we must follow strict guidelines for the release of information about sensitive diagnoses (for example, abortion, alcohol abuse, venereal disease, drug abuse and HIV). We may release this information directly to the physician or patient, but we must receive specific written consent from the patient before we can disclose it to anyone else. As a further precaution, myTRICARE Secure on this Web site will not display any information involving confidential conditions or procedures.