The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a U.S. federal law that establishes national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without consent. It requires healthcare providers, insurers, and their business associates to secure protected health information (PHI) through privacy, security, and breach notification rules.
Key aspects of HIPAA include:
Protected Health Information (PHI): Covers data like names, Social Security numbers, medical history, and test results that identify a patient.
The Privacy Rule: Sets standards for when PHI can be used or disclosed, granting patients rights to access their records and request corrections.
Mandates administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for electronic PHI (ePHI)
Breach Notification Rule: Requires organizations to notify individuals, the government, and sometimes the media if a data breach occurs.
Enforcement: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces these rules.
The primary purpose is to balance the flow of health information needed for care with the protection of privacy.