To coincide with the fourth anniversary of the enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rule, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on April 20 the launch of an enhanced web site that will make it easier for consumers, healthcare providers, and others to get information about how the department enforces health information privacy rights and standards.
The new information describes HHS activities in enforcing the privacy rule, the results of those enforcement activities, extensive guidance for entities who must comply with the rule, and statistics showing which types of complaints are received most frequently and the types of entities most often required to take corrective action as a result of consumer complaints. Other information on the web site covers consumers’ rights to access their health information and control how their personal health information is used and disclosed, as well as guidance on how to submit complaints about possible violations of the law.
In launching the web site, Winston Wilkinson, director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, noted, “HHS has obtained significant change in the privacy practices of covered entities through its enforcement program. Corrective actions obtained by HHS from these entities have resulted in change that is systemic and affects all the individuals they serve.”
