- Are in-office membership plans right for your practice?
- The hidden cost of managing too many practice systems
- 5 AI tools changing optometry
- Growing your practice through technology
- AI in healthcare: Taking a stand
- Does doubling your malpractice insurance limits double your premium?
- What do your malpractice insurance limits mean and how much coverage do you really need?
- Why malpractice insurance pricing isn’t linear and what that means for your coverage
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- Stay prepared: When young optometrists should apply for malpractice insurance
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- 5 reasons savvy optometric practice owners invest in cyber liability insurance
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- Strategies for Practice Transition Planning: AOAExcel partners with Equitable to offer workshop
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- Anatomy of a breach
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- In-office Membership Plans 101: How Forward-thinking Practice Owners are Implementing Membership Plans to Increase Patient Loyalty
- Thinking about switching EHRs?
- 5 key features a long-term disability policy should include
- What is cyber liability insurance and why do optometric practices need it?
- 3 ways to honor staff for Paraoptometric Appreciation Month
- New data source and other changes to CMS’ proposed 2026 Physician Fee Schedule
- AOAExcel® shines the light on top talent
- AOA Innovation Hub premieres at Optometry’s Meeting®
- Medicare Advantage Risk Adjustment audits are overwhelming optometry practices
- This members-only benefit offers something for everyone
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- How to launch a successful career in optometry
- A voice for independent doctors
- Are you prepared?
- How to fill your staffing needs
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- More courses, more uses, more impact: Why more AOA member doctors, staff are turning to AOA EyeLearn
- Master paraoptometric certification exam prep with AOA’s study resources
- 5 things every office needs to practice full-scope optometry
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- How to navigate political conversations in your practice
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- The power of delegation
- New technologies shaping optometry’s future
- How AOAExcel makes your life easier
- Next-gen optometry’s focus on independent practice
- Inferiority complexity?
- Is your staff connected? How peer connections benefit practices
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- Does your practice do in-house billing? Here’s something to know
- Where to start? The tools and resources to leave a positive impact on your patients and community
- AOA boosts support for optometrists rocked by Change Healthcare cyberattack
- Be aware of new classification of employee vs. independent contractor from labor department
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- Level up your optometric surgical team: AOA launches surgical assistant coursework
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HIPAA rule change on substance use disorder records won’t impact most optometrists
HIPAA rule change on substance use disorder records won’t impact most optometrists
March 8, 2026
Most doctors of optometry can wait to update their Notice of Privacy Practices with AOA’s updated form.
Key Takeaways
- A change to the HIPAA privacy rule relating to substance use disorder (SUD) updates privacy protections, including patient consent and disclosure, for SUD records created by an SUD program.
- The change only applies to providers who receive copies of patient records from an SUD clinic.
- If you handle records of this nature, you must update your Notice of Privacy Practices immediately.
- The AOA has updated its standard HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices to reflect the SUD change. It is available as a free download from AOA’s HIPAA resources page.
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