Today, despite the increase in the collection and dissemination of personal data, there is no comprehensive Federal requirement to provide patients with basic privacy protections. Americans are increasingly concerned about losing their privacy. Personal health information can be distributed without consent for reasons that are unrelated to treatment. Under the current loose patchwork of state laws, information held by an insurer can be passed on to a lender who can then deny that patient s application for a home mortgage or a credit card, or to an employer who uses it in personnel decisions. Personal health information may be disclosed for insurance underwriting purposes, for market research, or any other reason without any safeguards to protect it against misuse.
Patients are often unable to access their own medical records.
In addition, patients wishing to access or control the release of such records may be unable to do so because of overwhelming barriers established by their insurance company, health care provider, or anyone else who holds their records. This new regulation requires health plans and providers to inform patients about how their information is being used and to whom it is disclosed. Limit the release of private health information without consent. This rule establishes a new Federal requirement for doctors treating patients and hospitals to obtain patients written consent to use their health information even for routine purposes, such as treatment and payment. Other, non-routine disclosures would require separate, specific patient authorization.