In order for our health care system to be efficient and effective, patients must feel comfortable sharing sensitive information with health professionals. Technology has provided tools to allow the ease of access to health care information, and enforceable national protections are needed to ensure the confidentiality of this personal health information.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) stated that if Congress was unable to enact medical records privacy legislation by the end of 1999, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) would be required to issue regulations on privacy standards for individual patient health information. The regulations must meet certain criteria, including ensuring the rights of the individual who is the subject of the information, establishing procedures for exercising such rights, and stating the authorized and required uses and disclosures of such information.

I worked during the 106th Congress to produce bipartisan legislation that struck the appropriate balance between providing protection for medical information and allowing necessary sharing of information within integrated health care systems. Unfortunately, we were unable to fully resolve all of the legislative issues involved. Since the Congress was unable to pass a comprehensive medical records privacy legislation, the duty fell to the secretary of the Health and Human Services to produce final regulations which will go into effect this year, 2002.

In this 107th Congress, I will continue to monitor HHS's final rule regarding the privacy of individually identifiable health information. It is my goal to create an environment in which patients feel safe knowing that their records are secure and where they are comfortable sharing their private health information with their health care providers.