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As part of HIPAA, HHS proposes more flexibility for providers in sharing patient information

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As part of HIPAA, HHS proposes more flexibility for providers in sharing patient information

In conjunction with today's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Department of Health and Human Services published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to change the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule.

Among the changes announced by HHS are empowering patients to be more involved in their treatment, removing barriers to coordinated care, and reducing regulations for the industry as a whole.

In the 60 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, OCR is required to collect comments from all stakeholders.

A REVIEW OF THE IMPACT

Definitions of terms such as "personal health application" and "electronic health record" would be required in the rule itself and removing medical collections from credit report HIPAA.

It reduces the time it takes providers to respond to an individual's request for personal health information from 30 days to 15 days, thereby improving access to personal health information.

Under the new rule, covered entities are now allowed to share and use patient health information. As opposed to the current requirement of using "professional judgment," this amendment allows for sharing based on the "good faith" belief that it is in the patient's best interests.

The rule would also be updated to allow covered entities to share health information with each other when a serious threat to health or safety is imminent and reasonable.

It clarifies the instances where a covered entity may share patient health information with social services agencies, community-based organizations, and other similar third parties in order to improve care coordination.

In the new rule, providers would have to post estimated fee schedules for accessing and disclosing personal health information on their websites. It specifies that there must be no charge for moving a patient record if there are no labor fees, as in the case of electronic records.

Furthermore, it would encourage greater involvement from family and caregivers in the care of individuals in crisis or experiencing an emergency.

The proposed rule continues the tradition of past rules that helped patients have more involvement in their healthcare while reducing provider burdens.

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