Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
United States federal law concerning health information
US seeks unprecedented access to medical records
Canada is moving toward patient-centered care by expanding direct online access to personal medical records through provincial digital health platforms, enabling real-time viewing of prescriptions, labs, and imaging. In the United States, HIPAA leaves large swaths of health data outside protection, while federal push and weak anonymization safeguards raise concerns about data sharing and unprecedented access to medical records for government and research purposes.
Health · 5 sources · Aug 17, 2026Read itThe journal
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About Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a United States Act of Congress enacted by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996. It aimed to alter the transfer of healthcare information and stipulated guidelines by which personally identifiable information maintained by the healthcare and healthcare insurance industries should be protected from fraud and theft, and addressed some limitations on healthcare insurance coverage. It generally prohibits healthcare providers and businesses called covered entities from disclosing protected information to anyone other than a patient and the patient's authorized representatives without their consent. The law does not restrict patients from accessing their own information, except in limited cases. Furthermore, it does not prohibit patients from voluntarily sharing their health information however they choose, nor does it require confidentiality where a patient discloses medical information to family members, friends, or other individuals not employees of a covered entity.
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