Office for Civil Rights - HIPAA

The Office for Civil Rights - HIPAA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Office oversees administration of Public Law 104-191, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which applies to "health information created or maintained by health care providers who engage in certain electronic transactions, health plans, and health care clearinghouses." 

HIPAA Rule

 * National Standards to Protect the Privacy of Personal Health Information (Unofficial Version of HIPAA Administrative Simplification Regulation Text as amended through February 16, 2006). Final modifications were made to the Privacy Rule, Federal Register, August 14, 2002 (Text).

General Info

 * Fact Sheet: "Privacy and Your Health Information".
 * Fact Sheet: "Your Health Information Privacy Rights".
 * Fact Sheet: "Protecting the Privacy of Patients' Health Information".

Contact Information
Office for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Room 509F, HHH Building Washington, D.C. 20201 Phone: 800 368-1019 E-mail: OCRMail AT hhs.gov Website: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Medicaid
 * Medicare

Articles & Commentary

 * HIPPA in the Wikipedia.
 * "DOJ Limits Prosecution of HIPAA Violations," iHealthbeat.org, June 7, 2005.
 * "Privacy rules yield 1 prosecution, U.S. official says: Investigations cleared 70 percent of 17,000 complaints filed under provisions of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, according to a federal spokesman," Knight Ridder Newspapers (TMCNet.com), February 24, 2006.
 * Rob Stein, "Medical Privacy Law Nets No Fines. Lax Enforcement Puts Patients' Files At Risk, Critics Say," Washington Post, June 5, 2006.