^{By Donald A. Balasa, JD, MBA
Originally published January 14, 2026}

In January 2026, the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) will release a comprehensive and current self-study course called “Identifying and Responding to Human Trafficking: The Medical Assistant’s Role.” This course was created in anticipation of the enactment of Texas legislation that will require medical assistants to successfully complete a training course on identifying, assisting, and reporting victims of human trafficking.

The following is an excerpt from Module 5, “Appropriate Documentation and Reporting Protocols: Human Trafficking Laws, Information in the Electronic Health Record, and Protecting Patient Privacy,” which I authored:

There is a strong consensus in the United States that trafficked persons should be protected to the fullest extent of the law. Researchers and policymakers, however, have pointed out the potential conflict between mandatory human trafficking (HT) reporting laws and laws that safeguard patient privacy (e.g., the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA). In addition, the health care field continues to wrestle with the question of how much information should be included in the electronic health record (EHR) of those patients who may be trafficked. 

These issues confront medical assistants interacting with patients who are (or may be) ensnared in the insidious web of human trafficking.