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Discusses federal and state laws that limit the circumstances in which health care providers may release a patient's personal health information.

Discusses whether the 1996 federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA," P.L. 104-191) prohibits hospitals from giving a patient's independent health advocate access to an inpatient client's hospital chart

Discusses proposed legislation in other states on electronic health records.

Discusses whether the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) prevents a school system from inquiring whether a paraprofessional job applicant has a psychiatric history that might pose a threat to student's safety.

Describes the state and federal laws on sale or marketing of medical records.

Although there is a strong consensus supporting the protection of patient confidentiality, views differ as to the best ways in practice to achieve that goal. Pressures are increasing from insurers, providers, and researchers to draw on medical records to study treatment outcomes and monitor expenditures, activities that are becoming increasingly common as medical records are computerized and large databases compiled. In recognition of these trends, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 called for the development of comprehensive privacy standards that would establish rights for patients with respect to their medical records and define the conditions for using and disclosing personally identifiable health information. 1 On December 28, 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the final regulation on privacy, and it is now under review by the Congress and the new Secretary of HHS. 2.

Discusses the comments of Dr. Beverly Woodward, an ethicist at Brandeis University, on the federal Medical Records Confidentiality Act of 1995.