Health Records

In response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a HIPAA waiver April 9, 2020 regarding Community Based Testing Sites, which waives enforcement of all HIPAA privacy and security protections and data breach rules from some health care activities affecting COVID-19 testing.  This statement from WPF includes the following information:  
-What are the changes the Community Based Testing Sites HIPAA waiver creates? 
-What are the privacy concerns? 
-WPF recommendations to correct the privacy problems in the Community Based Testing Sites HIPAA waiver  
-Background on HIPAA waivers and a list of all current waivers in force

In response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a HIPAA waiver April 2, 2020 regarding Business Associates. The April 2 waiver is consequential and poses significant privacy challenges. This statement from WPF includes the following information:  
-What are the changes to HIPAA the April 2 waiver creates? 
-What are the privacy concerns? 
-WPF recommendations to correct the problems in the April 2, 2020 waiver  

This FAQ provides responses to the most frequently asked questions about coronavirus and privacy, especially COVID-19 testing, records, and health privacy for people in, or visiting, the U.S.

WPF Executive Director Pam Dixon will testify before the full committee of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) regarding emerging privacy concerns in the healthcare environment, including the role of artificial intelligence, patient authorizations, and automated access to patient health information.  The NCVHS is the statutory [42 U.S.C. 242k(k)] public advisory body

The Office of Civil Rights in the US Department of Health and Human Services has taken its first enforcement action under the HIPAA right of patient access to health records. HHS announced that it fined a health care provider $85,000 for failing to provide health care records to a patient upon written request, stating in