Subscribe to our newsletter. The rules apply to virtually all health insurers and most health care providers and clearinghouses.
Insurers pass records to mortgage lenders, credit agencies and employers.
Health plan providers often give, or sell, medical records for insurance underwriting, market research and other purposes without any concern for the patients' privacy. Let's see in non-legalese what the new federal regulations do to solve those problems and protect our personal privacy. Non-routine uses of records require separate, specific authorization by the patient. Patients have the right to see and copy their own records, as well as the right to request correction of potentially harmful errors in their health files. This may be the single most important provision of the new regulations.