University of Minnesota Reports Findings in Medical Informatics (Twenty Years of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Safe Harbor Provision: Unsolved Challenges and Ways Forward): Health Information Technology – Medical Informatics

2022 AUG 11 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Health Information Technology - Medical Informatics is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was an important milestone in protecting the privacy of patient data; however, the HIPAA provisions specific to geographic data remain vague and hinder the ways in which epidemiologists and geographers use and share spatial health data. The literature on spatial health and select legal and official guidance documents present scholars with ambiguous guidelines that have led to the use and propagation of multiple interpretations of a single HIPAA safe harbor provision specific to geographic data.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Minnesota, “Misinterpretation of this standard has resulted in many entities sharing data at overly conservative levels, whereas others offer definitions of safe harbors that potentially put patient data at risk. To promote understanding of, and adherence to, the safe harbor rule, this paper reviews the HIPAA law from its creation to the present day, elucidating common misconceptions and presenting straightforward guidance to scholars. We focus on the 20,000-person population threshold and the 3-digit zip code stipulation of safe harbors, which are central to the confusion surrounding how patient location data can be shared. A comprehensive examination of these 2 stipulations, which integrates various expert perspectives and relevant studies, reveals how alternative methods for safe harbors can offer researchers better data and better data protection.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Much has changed in the 20 years since the introduction of the safe harbor provision; however, it continues to be the primary source of guidance (and frustration) for researchers trying to share maps, leaving many waiting for these rules to be revised in accordance with the times.”

For more information on this research see: Twenty Years of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Safe Harbor Provision: Unsolved Challenges and Ways Forward. JMIR Medical Informatics, 2022;10(8). JMIR Medical Informatics can be contacted at: Jmir Publications, Inc, 130 Queens Quay E, Ste 1102, Toronto, On M5A 0P6, Canada.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Steven M. Manson, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.2196/37756. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

The publisher of the journal JMIR Medical Informatics can be contacted at: Jmir Publications, Inc, 130 Queens Quay E, Ste 1102, Toronto, On M5A 0P6, Canada.

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