HHS Request for Information Suggests Big Plans for Changing HIPAA

A request for information (RFI) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) suggests it has extensive plans for revamping privacy elements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), reports Politico Pro . The RFI concentrates on improving care coordination, with questions covering access to health information, sharing with social service agencies, expanding data clearinghouses' access, and beneficiary health data. One question asks whether doctors should have latitude to share information with other healthcare providers or social agencies without recipient authorization in cases where they deem it in the best interest of the recipient. Also covered by the RFI are issues such as the "accounting for disclosures" rule, which allows recipients to understand to whom their data had been disclosed. OCR has been unable to meet that requirement, with an earlier attempt defeated after negative public feedback. The request revives the issue by seeking basic information, like how frequently covered entities receive requests for an accounting of disclosures. OCR Director Roger Severino has vowed to rethink HIPAA requirements for an time when more care coordination — and thus more data-sharing — is needed, while also promising "big, juicy enforcement" actions against certain HIPAA violators.