Current
Medical Privacy
On August 14, the Department of Health and Human Services
published final modifications to the Medical Privacy Rule,
based on the more than 11,000 public comments received on
the March 27 notice of proposed rulemaking. The Standards
for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information
(the Privacy Rule) took effect on April 14, 2001. The Privacy
Rule creates national standards to protect individuals' personal
health information and gives patients increased access to
their medical records. As required by the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Privacy
Rule covers health plans, health care clearinghouses, and
those health care providers who conduct certain financial
and administrative transactions electronically. The privacy
rule regulates how these "covered entities" may use and disclose
identifiable health information for routine (e.g., treatment,
payment) and non-routine (e.g., research, marketing) purposes.
Most covered entities must comply with the Privacy Rule by
April 14, 2003. Small health plans have until April 14, 2004
to comply with the Rule. More >>
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