Public Hearing on Federal Medical Privacy Rule and
Patient Consent
August 21, 2001
On Tuesday, August 21, the National Committee on Vital
and Health Statistics (NCVHS), Subcommittee on Privacy
and Confidentiality, held a public hearing to discuss
modifying the federal medical privacy rule that was
published December 20, 2000 and recently approved by
the Bush Administration. The federal rule went into
effect on April 14, 2001 and covers nearly every citizen—whether
health care is paid for privately or federally funded.
Panelists examined how the new rule affects health
care ethics and whether individuals' consent should
be required before releasing personal health information
for various purposes. The panel on consent was part
of the NCVHS, Subcommittee on Privacy and Confidentiality
meetings scheduled for August 21 through 23, 2001 in
Washington, D.C. Meetings will be held in Room 705-A,
Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue,
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201.
The first panel of witnesses who spoke about consent
issues included the following:
- Mary Henderson, HIPPA Project Leader, Kaiser
Permanente
- Sharon King Donohue, J.D., General Counsel, National
Council on Quality Assurance
- Bruce Kelly, Director, Government Relations, Mayo
Foundation, on behalf of Healthcare Leadership Council
- Sue Blevins, President, Institute for Health
Freedom
The NCVHS meetings are open to the public and also can
be heard on the Veterans Administration Web page at: http://www.va.gov/audiohhs.htm.
For information about the meetings, visit the NCVHS web
site: http://ncvhs.hhs.gov.
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