July 26, 2002

With the impending enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and AccountabilityAct (HIPAA) to protect patients' privacy of their medical information next year, MGH Health Information Services hosted an information table in the Main Corridor July 23 and 25. At the information display, a draft of the new patient privacy notice that eventually will be given to all MGH patients was available for visitors to review. As part of the new HIPAA regulations, patients will be required to sign a receipt of the privacy notice to acknowledge that they understand how their medical information is used at the hospital. Additional information tables will be on display in the Main Corridor Aug. 13 and 15, from 10 am to 2 pm. For more information about the HIPAA guidelines or to give feedback on the privacy notice, contact Eileen Bryan at (617) 726-6360.

Above, MGHers Phillip Hunt and Michelle Gagne were available to answer questions at the patient privacy information table.