A final rule issued by the Biden administration prevents medical records from being used against people for providing or receiving certain types of reproductive health care – even if a patient travels out of state. Scott Olson/Getty Images/FILE
By Jacqueline Howard, CNN 5 minute read Published 1:22 PM EDT, Mon April 22, 2024
CNN — Patients have a right to privacy when it comes to their medical information, even when they travel to another state for an abortion, IVF, birth control or other types of reproductive health care, federal officials declared in a new rule.
The final rule, called HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy, was announced Monday and prohibits the disclosure of a patient’s health information as it relates to reproductive health care, as well as strengthens privacy protections for that patient, their family and their doctors who are providing or facilitating the care.
This means that the rule prevents medical records from being used against people for providing or receiving certain types of reproductive health care — even if a patient traveled to another state for that care, Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the Office for Civil Rights, said in a news conference Monday.
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