HealthcareCISO

While the recently proposed HHS updates to the HIPAA Privacy Rule aim to help patients get more digital access to their health information, some of the proposed changes pose concerns for healthcare providers.

The HHS Office for Civil Rights released the proposed modifications Dec. 10, 2020, as part of the department's Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care initiative, which analyzes federal regulations that interfere with healthcare providers and health plans' efforts to better coordinate care for patients. Some of the proposed changes include strengthening patients' access to their own health information and reducing administrative burdens on HIPAA-covered providers and health plans.

Public comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be due 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.

Here, three hospital and health system executives share their thoughts on the proposed changes and what innovation opportunities and concerns they pose for the industry.

Question: Are the proposed modifications to the HIPAA privacy rule good or bad for healthcare? What would you say is the most exciting and/or most concerning proposed change?

Kathleen Ojala, JD, RN, CHC, CPC, Administrative Director, Compliance and Integrity, Privacy Officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Columbus): Covered entities have been implementing...