HIPAA Non-Disclosure Rules

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as HIPAA, is federal legislation that was created to protect the privacy of patients. HIPAA has specific rules regarding the sharing of personal patient information. These rules are often referred to as non-disclosure or privacy rules. Any "individually identifiable health information" that is held by one of the covered entities, such as hospitals and physician offices, is protected from being shared with others without patient consent under HIPAA rules.

Protected Information

• Any patient information that could potentially be used as a confirmation of patient identity is protected from disclosure. The non-disclosure rule restricts the transmission of patient information unless the patient has given express consent to share the information.

Medical Condition

• Any medical data on a patient that reveals past, present, or potential future medical condition is protected under the HIPAA non-disclosure rule. No medical entity may share this type of information without patient consent.

Provision of Health Care

• HIPAA protects information regarding the provision of health care. Any treatments that are provided to a patient by a doctor or other medical personnel are included in the non-disclosure rule. The provision of health care rule applies to past, present, and future medical care and treatments.

Payments for Health Care

• The HIPAA non-disclosure rule restricts the sharing of information regarding payments for health care. Medical entities may not share this type of information because it may include financial information that can be used to identify the patient.

Exceptions to Non-Disclosure

• The HIPAA non-disclosure rule does not apply in certain circumstances. When a patient agrees to treatment by a physician, she will sign an agreement called a Treatment Payment & Operations (TPO) agreement allowing the doctor, and any doctor who treats the patient, to gain access to the patient's records. There are specific exceptions to the non-disclosure rule that allow patient information to be disclosed in the absence of patient knowledge or consent. These exemptions information include: any information disclosure that is required by law; information on victims of domestic violence, neglect, or other abuse; information that is part of a judicial proceeding; information needed for medical research; and information needed to allow tissue or organ donation to proceed.