New HIPAA rule would show who sees health information

A proposed change to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act would give people the right to see who has electronically accessed their protected health information.

The change is proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR). "We need to protect peoples' rights so that they know how their health information has been used or disclosed," says Georgina Verdugo, OCR director.

People would obtain the information by requesting an access report that would disclose who saw their information. The office is taking comments on the proposed rule until August 1.