Proposed Modifications to HIPAA Expands Individual Access Rights and Encourages Further Sharing of PHI for Care Coordination Monday, December 14, 2020
On December 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The proposed revisions to the Privacy Rule seek to amend provisions that create barriers to coordinated care “without sufficiently compensating for, or offsetting, such burdens through privacy protections.” OCR developed the proposals after reviewing the public input received in response to the December 2018 Request for Information on Modifying HIPAA Rules to Improve Coordinated Care. The proposals would significantly expand individuals’ rights to access protected health information (PHI), encourage additional sharing for care coordination or to assist individuals with substance use disorders in certain instances, revise the Notice of Priva