NCJ Number
198976
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 65 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2003 Pages: 18,20
Date Published
February 2003
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article discusses a new Federal law designed to protect the privacy and confidentiality of inmates’ medical records.
Abstract
After describing the enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by Congress in 1996, the author argues that the passage of this Act was designed to improve the efficiency of the Nation’s health care system by requiring that certain common health care transactions be conducted using a uniform, national standard to protect the privacy of patients’ medical information. Stating that the statutory requirements of the HIPAA may necessitate the implementation of significant changes in the ways that Federal, State, local, and private correctional institutions provide health care services to inmates, the author contends that while the HIPAA applies to inmates’ medical records, these privacy regulations do not cover the release of protected health information about individuals on pretrial release, probation, or parole. The author maintains that correctional institutions meeting the definition of a health care provider must engage in certain activities designed to protect the privacy of inmates’ personal health care information under the requirements of the HIPAA. After explaining that an inmate is not able to obtain a copy of his or her medical records, although he or she is permitted to inspect the records unless the correctional facility can indicate a HIPAA-sanctioned exception to deny the inmate inspection rights, the author article states that while ensuring that correctional facilities are in compliance with the HIPAA is a time consuming task, ignoring the requirements of the HIPAA potentially subjects correctional institutions to Federal civil penalties and inmate-initiated lawsuits. 1 Endnote