HIPAA's Privacy Rule Summarized: What does it mean for telemedicine?

Friday, February 23, 2001  | Glenn W. Wachter

In 1996, Congress sought to streamline electronic medical record systems while protecting patients, improving health care efficiency, and reducing fraud and abuse. Passing Congress with bipartisan support, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA, Public Law 104-191) became the legislative vehicle to address those issues. HIPAA is divided into seven standards, collectively referred to as Administrative Simplification. Since this law's passage in 1996, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published two major final rules, dealing with standards for electronic transactions and information privacy pursuant to PL 104-191Title II Subtitle F Sections 261-264. Due to the complexity of each final regulation, the highlights of the privacy rule are discussed in this document as they relate to the practice of telemedicine and telehealth.

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