HIPAA Revisited, Part 1: Privacy vs. Portability

Responding to heightened concerns about the privacy of individuals' medical and healthcare information, the federal government in 1996 introduced HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It empowered the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and manage the methods governing the collection and sharing of personal health information and the mechanisms with which all U.S. healthcare organizations covered under the Act must comply.

Read the Article at LinuxInsider