Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Five years after the IOM report advocating CPRs was published, President Clinton signed into law the Health Insurance Portability and Account ability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 (which is discussed in detail in Chapter Nine). HIPAA was designed primarily to make health insurance more affordable and accessible, but it included important provisions to simplify administrative processes and to protect the security and confidentiality of personal health information. HIPAA was part of a larger health care reform effort and a federal interest in HIT for purposes beyond reimbursement. HIPAA also brought national attention to the issues surrounding the use of personal health information in electronic form. The Internet had revolutionized the way that consumers, providers, and health care organizations accessed health information, communicated with each other, and conducted business, creating new risks to patient privacy and security.
