The privacy of someone's medical records is protected by both state and federal law. Hospital records are confidential and may only be obtained by court order or written consent of the patient. HIPAA protects medical records that are transferred among different parties. There are many federal rules of protection. Doctors can be held liable for disclosing a patient's personally identifiable data along with medical information. There are mandatory statutory reporting requirements, however, for communicable diseases andd sexually transmitted diseases. While the records remain confidential, law enforcement officers may request an arrested person to be tested for Hepatitis or HIV if there is blood exposure.