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What is HIPAA and how do I abide by the requirements?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( HIPAA 

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
a Law to improve portability of health insurance coverage, promote medical savings accounts, improve access to long-term care services and coverage, and simplify administration of health insurance. Implications for research can be found at: Clinical Research and the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
) was designed to protect individually identifiable health information of individuals who are living or deceased, and it regulates the risks to privacy that may accompany using and disclosing personal health information. The Office of Extramural Research
( OER 
Office of Extramural Research (OER)
a NIH office that supports extramural research by providing policy and guidance to the NIH ICs that award grants and assisting investigators through the process of attaining grants funding and helping them understand and navigate through federal policies and procedures. OER Homepage
) offers background information and resources to familiarize you with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The rule has implications for the conduct of clinical research.  Specific information and FAQs from NIH 
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
the United State's medical research agency, a federal government agency composed of diverse Institutes and Centers that conduct and support biomedical and behavioral research. NIH Homepage.
about Clinical Research and the HIPAA Privacy Rule will help you to better understand how the Privacy Rule may affect your research when identifying potential participants or contacting research volunteers.



Page Last Updated: February 2011
Content Manager: ClinicalResearchPolicyManager@nhlbi.nih.gov

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