Passed in 1996, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") requires that healthcare providers adopt certain standards regarding individually identifiable patient health information. The goal of this legislation is to encourage overall administrative simplification and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the health care industry. Privacy and security of patient information was also a driving motivation for this legislation.
A major of HIPAA is it's "Privacy Rule" which assures that individual's health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public's health and well-being. The Privacy Rule strikes a balance that permits important uses of information, while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and treatment. Given that the health care marketplace is diverse, the Rule is designed to be flexible and comprehensive to cover the variety of uses and disclosures involved with ordinary healthcare practice.
Metro MRI's Notice of Privacy Practices