JUN 27 1997
The Honorable Donna E. Shalala
Secretary of Health and Human Services
200
Independence Avenue S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Secretary Shalala:
On behalf of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS), I am pleased to forward to you our recommendations relating to health information privacy. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires you to provide detailed recommendations to the Congress with respect to the privacy of individually identifiable health information by August 1997. The law also directs you to consult with the NCVHS in developing your recommendations. The enclosed report is submitted in support of this responsibility.
In developing our recommendations to you for health information privacy, the NCVHS Subcommittee on Privacy and Confidentiality held six full days of public hearings during which we heard from 43 witnesses from the industry, privacy community, State government, and public health and research communities. We also benefitted from two additional days of public hearings in San Francisco where we heard from an additional 40 witnesses from across the health industry spectrum, including a number of representatives from the privacy and patient advocacy community.
The NCVHS recommends that you and the Administration assign the highest priority to the development of a strong position on health privacy. The NCVHS also recommends that the 105th Congress enact a health privacy law before it adjourns in the fall of 1998.
We appreciate your leadership on health information privacy, and offer our continuing assistance in addressing this national issue.
Sincerely,
/s/
Don E. Detmer, M.D.
Chairman