This is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule.The HIPAA was inacted to improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage, to combat waste, fraud and abuse in health care delivery, and to improve access to long-term care services and coverage. HIPAA has several components. However, the component most applicable to the military provides for increased privacy protection of protected health information (PHI). Of note, military personnel are subject to UCMJ or administrative actions for violating the privacy protections of HIPAA. The general prohibition under HIPAA is that the PHI of individuals, living or deceased, shall not be used or disclosed except for specifically permitted purposes. PHI is anything that tells someone about the past, present, or future health of an individual; the provision of healthcare to an individual; or the past, present or future payment for the provision of healthcare to an individual. This includes the patient’s name, address, ZIP code, phone number, Social Security number, gender, age, race, diagnosis information, and treatment information.
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