Clinton unveils sweeping new rules to protect medical privacy

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Clinton unveils sweeping new rules to protect medical privacy

Posted 11-8-99
By Chris Schreiber

Washington. Amid rising fears over the practice of sharing medical records, President Clinton announced last week the country's first proposed national regulations for safeguarding patient privacy.

Among the protections offered to consumers under the proposal are the right to review their medical records and to request corrections. Patients would also be allowed to restrict the use of their records, and health plans, providers, and clearinghouses would be subject to criminal and civil liability for misusing patient records.

The protections would allow the disclosure of patient information in certain circumstances, including child abuse or in law enforcement cases. The rules are open for public comment for 60 days.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) and other groups lauded the announcement, but expressed concern that the proposed rules don't go far enough. "[The regulations] can't deal with enforcement issues. That still needs to be done by Congress," said Stephanie Reed, associate director of government affairs for the ANA. "But there's still a lot to like about what we've seen so far."

The American Hospital Association has adopted a wait-and-see approach. "While AHA supports strong penalties for misuse of patient information, we hope the rules clearly spell out what constitutes appropriate use so that caregivers are not hampered from daily treatment of patients," the AHA said in a statement. "We want to make certain the rules are carefully crafted so they don't add unnecessary costs."

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala proposed the guidelines as mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The law gave Congress a three-year window to pass comprehensive health privacy legislation, but Congress failed to act during that period.

Both the president and Shalala have called on Congress to pass more thorough protections before Feb. 21, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issues final regulations, said HHS spokesperson Lorrie McHugh.