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Abstract: This article examines the Department of Health and Human Services' Privacy Rule, created pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and its impact on public health practice. When the Privacy Rule took effect on April 14, 2003, it presented for the first time a national standard of health information privacy and security protections. Its provisions, however, must be understood within a larger universe of existing legal protections at the federal, state, and local levels. Accordingly, this article begins with a brief legal overview of federal and state health information privacy laws. A synopsis of the Privacy Rule supports additional discussion of the ways that the Rule affects public health practice and functions. These effects are examined through external and internal lenses. Externally, how the Rule affects the flow of identifiable health data to public health authorities is analyzed. Additionally, how the Privacy Rule impacts the practice of public health by governmental health authorities is examined. Even though the Privacy Rule adopts an appropriate framework for the sharing of health data in the interests of public health, it may still present challenges to public health practice.
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