In addition to the disclosures
explicitly permitted in the statute, the Privacy Act permits agencies to disclose information for other
purposes compatible with the
purpose for which the information was collected by
identifying the disclosure as a «routine use» and publishing notice of it in the Federal Register.
For example, the proposed rule did not state
explicitly whether covered entities would have been allowed to initiate — in the absence of a request from law enforcement — disclosure of protected health information to law enforcement officials for the
purpose of
identifying a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person.