In This Issue:

- Right to Access Protected Health Information

- Restrictions on Health Plan Disclosures

- Guidance on How to Comply With the Expanded Patient Rights

..Evaluate Electronic Systems

..Revise Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP)

..Review and Revise Policies and Procedures

..Train Workforce Members

- Excerpt from Right to Access Protected Health Information:

Individuals currently have the right to review or obtain copies of their PHI,the extent such information is maintained in the designated record set(s) of a Covered Entity. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) expanded this right of access to give patients the right to an electronic copy of PHI that is maintained in an electronic health record (EHR), and the Final Rule took that right one step further – to apply to all designated record sets maintained electronically.