Investigating a murder at an outpatient chemotherapy center, Deputy Chief Johnson asks for a list of all the patients. Ann, almost but not quite a lawyer, says this is prohibited by HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). This is not correct. The HIPAA Privacy Rule explicitly allows health care facilities to release information to law enforcement "for purposes of identification and location of a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person," including name and address, date of birth, blood type, and some other identifying characteristics. See Title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, section 164.512(f)(2).