I cannot get a straight answer from her about this which makes me think that this database will allow the Feds to violate HIPPA by tapping into this information. Think of it as NSA snooping broadened to include all medical records and carried out by HHS.
Carried to an extreme this allows some nameless bureaucrat to flag your name as mentally unstable because you visited a psychiatrist for a minor problem and determine that you should not have firearms - all done without the benefit of due process.
HIPPA is no barrier at all to the Federal government. Quite the opposite in fact.
HIPPA is mostly about standardized formats for electronic medical record exchanges between health care providers and insurance companies. The "privacy" features of HIPPA are a minor portion of that law - and Government agencies can override them.
What could be easier for Government employees to access than mandated records kept in a standardized format?
It is not particularly difficult for a Government agency to obtain a disclosure order from a compliant judge. Such actions can be kept secret too.
When the Federal Government bureaucrats want to harass anti-government opponents, they will have very little difficulty obtaining whatever adverse information may be present in medical records. "Privacy" in such matters vanished a long time ago.
The "last barrier" to anything is when people refuse to comply.