The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a request for information (RFI) on ways to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to improve care coordination, promote value-based care, and reduce regulatory burden on providers.
HIPAA privacy and security rules protect individuals’ medical records and other individually identifiable health information created or received by or on behalf of covered entities, known as “protected health information” (PHI).
The agency seeks stakeholder feedback on 54 questions spanning a variety of topics, including:
- promoting information sharing with patients, providers, and other entities, such as social service agencies, to promote care coordination;
- using health care clearinghouses;
- implementing the requirement to include disclosure for treatment, payment, and health care operations from an electronic health record to provide helpful information to individuals and minimize regulatory burden;
- sharing information to help combat the opioid crisis and treat serious mental illness;
- patient-requested accounting of PHI disclosures; and
- provider requirements involving patient acknowledgement of privacy practices
America’s Essential Hospitals is analyzing the RFI and will submit comments. Comments are due to HHS by Feb. 12, 2019.
Contact Senior Director of Policy Erin O’Malley at eomalley@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
