Function

• Under the HIPAA, the Privacy Rule makes it illegal for healthcare professionals to share private health information without the consent of the individual. Under the Privacy Rule, individuals have the right to request access to their private health information and must consent to have their information shared. This true for information shared electronically as well.
  
  

Features

• Under the Privacy Rule, health care providers must supply individuals with requested health information in a timely manner, usually considered 30 days. This is the same for electronic records; however, these records are usually available much sooner.
  
  

Considerations

• Under certain circumstances, health care providers may deny an individual access to her private health information. This can include certain psychotherapy notes, requests made from inside prisons and information obtained during research. All of these exceptions also hold for electronic notes.