The American Hospital Association (AHA) has urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to finalize its proposed “commonsense” amendments to the HIPAA Privacy Rule to support reproductive healthcare privacy and to immediately suspend or amend its December 2022 online tracking guidance. The AHA believes that the OCR’s online tracking guidance is overly broad and could have a chilling effect on the free flow of information about health care and that it is unnecessary and could harm the quality of health care. The AHA urges the OCR to reconsider its online tracking guidance and to focus on protecting the privacy of patient information that is being used for medical purposes.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has urged the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to finalize its proposed “commonsense” amendments to the HIPAA Privacy Rule to support reproductive health care privacy and to immediately suspend or amend its December 2022 online tracking guidance.
The AHA believes that the OCR’s online tracking guidance is overly broad and could have a chilling effect on the free flow of information about health care. The guidance defines IP addresses as protected health information (PHI) whenever they are shared with a third party, regardless of the context in which the IP address is collected. This means that hospitals and other healthcare organizations would be prohibited from sharing IP addresses with marketing companies, analytics firms, or other third parties, even if the information is not being used for medical purposes.
The AHA argues that this guidance is unnecessary and could harm the quality of health care. By prohibiting the sharing of IP addresses, the guidance could make it more difficult for hospitals and other healthcare organizations to track the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns, identify patients who may be at risk for certain diseases, and provide patients with personalized care.
The AHA urges the OCR to reconsider its online tracking guidance and to focus on protecting the privacy of patient information that is being used for medical purposes. The AHA also urges the OCR to finalize its proposed amendments to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which would provide additional protections for reproductive health care information.
Here are some additional details about the AHA’s concerns with the OCR’s online tracking guidance:
- The guidance is overly broad and could have a chilling effect on the free flow of information about health care.
- The guidance is unnecessary and could harm the quality of health care.
- The guidance should be reconsidered and focused on protecting the privacy of patient information that is being used for medical purposes.
The AHA hopes that the OCR will take these concerns into account and will take steps to address them.
