|
Abstract:
|
During the late 1990s, a number of laws were proposed to protect the privacy of health records. All included a definition of "identifiability" that was very general. However, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services assumed responsibility for writing a Privacy Rule in accordance with provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), two approaches were taken---one a very detailed statistical approach and the other a relatively simple, nonstatistical procedure. This paper describes these standards, the process by which they were adopted, and the role of statisticians in their development. As the Privacy Rule is cited widely now as a standard for protecting electronic and other information from re-disclosure, it is important they be understood and their implications discussed.
|
