Has the HIPAA Privacy Rule hindered medical research by making doctors and others less willing and/or able to share with researchers information about individual patients?
It is not expected that the Privacy Rule will hinder medical research. Indeed, patients and health plan members may be more willing to authorize disclosures of their information for research and to participate in research when they know their information is protected. For example, in genetic studies conducted at the National Institutes of Health, nearly 32 percent of eligible people offered a test for breast cancer risk declined to take it. The overwhelming majority of those who refuse cite concerns about health insurance discrimination and loss of privacy as the reason. The Privacy Rule both permits important research and, at the same time, encourages patients to participate in research by providing much needed assurances about the privacy of their health information. The Privacy Rule will require some covered health care providers and health plans to change their current practices related to documenting research uses and disclosures. It is possible that some covered health care provi
Related Questions
- Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to share patient health information for treatment purposes without the patients authorization?
- Will the HIPAA Privacy Rule hinder medical research by making doctors and others less willing and/or able to share with researchers information about individual patients?
- Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule limit an individuals ability to gather and share family medical history information?
