Last week, HHS issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule that will affect HIPAA privacy policies and procedures for employer group health plans.?á The proposed revisions affect (i) an individual?ÃÃs right to access ?ãprotected health information?ÃÂ¥ (?ãPHI?ÃÂ¥), (ii) the content required in the Notice of Privacy Practices, and (iii) the ability to use and disclose PHI based on professional judgment, to avert a threat to health or safety, or for coordination of care and case management.?á HHS proposed that compliance with the changes would be required within 180 days after the effective date of a final rule.?á HHS has requested comments on the proposed changes within 60 days after their publication in the Federal Register, which publication should occur soon.?á
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is available here.