How to Protect Your Health Information Under Privacy Laws

The privacy of your personal health information is protected under HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This federal law grants individuals certain rights pertaining to health information and regulates who can share and access that information under the privacy rule.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer with Internet access

Protect Your Health Information

1. Be aware of your rights as established by HIPAA (see Resources below). You have the right to see and correct your record as well as to file a complaint with your health provider or insurer and the government if your privacy rights are not being protected.
2. Call the Department of Health and Human Services for help with HIPAA if you have questions about violations and how you can protect yourself. The toll free number is 1-866-627-7748.
3. Request a copy of your medical records from your doctors and insurance company. This information will enable you to check for accuracy and change inaccurate data, as well as help you decide whether your protected privacy rights have been violated.
4. Talk to your health care providers about your privacy concerns based on the federal laws. If there is a health care issue or concern that you do not want shared with insurance agencies and other entities, make a request in writing for that portion of your record to remain confidential.
5. Understand that medical information found in other types of records such as employment, school or financial records are not covered under HIPAA privacy laws. Many of these records, however, may be protected under other federal privacy laws.
6. File a health information privacy complaint with the Office of Civil Rights if you know your privacy was violated. Instructions for filing are located on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• Know that federal privacy laws do not protect all of your health information from all entities. Often, people are asked to sign disclosure forms allowing insurance companies, employers and other entities to access your private information. Read medical disclosure statements carefully, and modify the amount of information disclosed to best protect your privacy.