The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act ( HIPAA ![](images/lightbulb.gif)
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)a
Law to improve portability of health insurance coverage, promote medical savings accounts, improve access to long-term care services and coverage, and simplify administration of health insurance. Implications for research can be found at:
Clinical Research and the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
) was designed to protect individually identifiable health
information of individuals who are living or deceased, and
it regulates the risks to privacy that may accompany using
and disclosing personal health information. The Office of
Extramural Research
( OER ![](images/lightbulb.gif)
) offers background information and resources
to familiarize you with the HIPAA
Privacy Rule. The rule has implications for the
conduct of clinical research. Specific information
and FAQs from NIH ![](images/lightbulb.gif)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)the United State's medical research agency, a federal government agency composed of diverse
Institutes and Centers that conduct and support biomedical and behavioral research.
NIH Homepage.
about Clinical
Research and the HIPAA Privacy Rule will help you to
better understand how the Privacy Rule may affect your research
when identifying potential participants or contacting research
volunteers.
Page Last Updated: February 2011
Content Manager: ClinicalResearchPolicyManager@nhlbi.nih.gov