Resources for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

House kills medical privacy bill

nhbr.com

The New Hampshire House narrowly defeated a bill that would have required additional privacy restrictions on electronic medical records, which hospitals have said were too costly.

The bill would have extended the federal privacy rights known as HIPAA to business associates, such as software vendors, and restrict access to fund-raisers and marketers. It also would have allowed patients to place additional restrictions on their records, and would have required that the hospital produce an audit trail, at the patient’s expense, detailing who had access to a patient’s medical information

Opponents said that the measure would result in costly and extensive training in the privacy

“It’s another layer of bureaucracy,” said Alida Milham, R-Gilford, who also sits on the board of trustees of Lakes Region General Hospital.

Rep. John DeJoie, D-Concord, warned of unintended consequences, including information not getting to doctors who needed it, costs that would drive up health-care premiums and the printing of huge audits that don’t really serve any medical purpose.

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