Policy Analysis Brief: Rural Hospitals' Strategies for Achieving Compliance with HIPAA Privacy Requirements (March 2004, W Series, Number 3)

This policy brief examines rural hospital compliance strategies to protect confidentiality of health information, as directed under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It discusses the flexibility to adopt privacy protection procedures appropriate to organizational size, needs, and resources. The brief includes key findings and conclusions from a survey of eight rural health care facilities that implemented privacy protection procedures.