Feds Issue More HIPAA Guidance in Push for Patient Access

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights released new HIPAA Privacy Rule guidance supporting the Trump administration’s “Make Health IT Great Again” interoperability initiative, though experts say the FAQs offer little new information for HIPAA professionals. The guidance clarifies that providers can share patient information with value-based care organizations for treatment without authorization and reaffirms patients’ rights to access designated record sets including medical and billing records, excluding psychotherapy notes and non-decision-making information. The initiative aims to help over 60 healthcare organizations and tech firms comply with new interoperability standards, enabling patients to access electronic health records through third-party apps and QR codes using FHIR standards. Legal experts note the guidance primarily restates existing HIPAA interpretations, with the only change being explicit inclusion of “consent forms for treatment” in designated record sets.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​