Health Records

WPF advises HHS on confidentiality of patient records re: alcohol and drug treatment records

The World Privacy Forum (WPF) submitted comments on an important Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes modifications of the protection requirements for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment records. Currently, health records regarding treatment for Substance Use Disorders receive special protections under what is called Part 2 regulations, or,  42 CFR Part 2. The changes proposed

How New Procedural Controls Using the Privacy Act of 1974 Can Improve the Protections of Reproductive Health Information Held by Federal Agencies

September 2022 By Robert Gellman and Pam Dixon Download this Report Executive Summary This report suggests specific procedural and substantive ways that the Executive Branch can revise implementation of the Privacy Act of 1974 to restrict and more carefully administer some disclosures of reproductive health information by federal agencies to federal, state, and local law

WPF urges HHS to clarify the harms of medical identity theft for victims

WPF has urged HHS to clarify the intersection between HIPAA compliance and harms resulting from medical identity theft in its response to the Request for Information from the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services regarding implementation of the HITECH Act. WPF has a long history of work on the issue of medical identity theft, which has informed its response to HHS.