Is all my medical info protected by HIPAA?

Is all my medical info protected by HIPAA? No, HIPAA protects only health care information that is held by specific kinds of health care providers. For example, health care data that may be on your Apple Watch or Fitbit are usually not covered by HIPAA. Similarly, genetic data you enter on websites like Ancestry.com are not covered by HIPAA.

Are there any laws that do not apply to HIPAA?

HIPAA rules do not apply to anyone else. You, as a patient, are free to disclose your protected health information to anyone. Drug testing labs are also not covered by HIPAA. This is why apps online that track health information are not covered by HIPAA (unless the app creator is a Covered Entity).

How is HIPAA different from other privacy laws?

Other laws or agreements like the privacy disclosures required on many apps (although many people don’t read them) may protect that information, but HIPAA does not. Employers are generally not covered health providers, so HIPAA does not apply to them. If necessary to protect others, your work could share that you have an illness.

Who are the covered entities under HIPAA regulations?

OCR has teamed up with the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to create this one-page fact sheet, with illustrations, that provides an overall summary of your rights under HIPAA: Your Health Information, Your Rights! – PDF We call the entities that must follow the HIPAA regulations “covered entities.” Covered entities include:

Are there any exceptions to the HIPAA regulations?

There are exceptions to HIPAA’s nondisclosure requirements. For example, HIPAA regulations allow covered health care providers to disclose patient information to help treat another person, to protect public health and for certain law enforcement purposes. There are additional exceptions that apply during a pandemic.

How does HIPAA apply to health care providers?

“HIPAA prescribes rules as to how health care providers, insurers and business associates must protect the privacy of health information about patients and prevents them from disclosing information except in limited circumstances,” Meisel said. “It simply does not apply to anything else.”