A general overview of privacy concepts, billing protections, and telehealth considerations that shape the US patient experience.
01 — Privacy
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) establishes federal standards for protecting sensitive patient health information. It generally governs how covered healthcare entities may use, share, and safeguard your records.
Your health records are generally protected from unauthorized disclosure.
Providers typically need your authorization to share information outside of treatment, payment, or operations.
Covered entities must provide a notice of privacy practices.
Patients generally have the right to request and review their own medical records.
You can typically request corrections to inaccurate information.
Providers often facilitate secure record transfer between care teams.
02 — Access
Patients generally have a right to access and obtain copies of their own medical records, and to request corrections when information appears inaccurate or incomplete.
03 — Billing Protections
This federal law generally protects consumers from unexpected out-of-network bills in many emergency and certain non-emergency situations, and requires good-faith cost estimates for uninsured or self-pay patients.
Protections against many surprise emergency out-of-network bills.
Right to a good-faith cost estimate as an uninsured or self-pay patient.
A dispute resolution process exists for certain billing disagreements.
Telehealth visits are generally subject to the same privacy standards as in-person care.
Provider licensing rules can vary by state and service type.
Coverage and cost-sharing for telehealth can vary by plan.
04 — Telehealth
Telehealth has become a routine part of US healthcare. General privacy protections still apply, though coverage, licensing, and cost details can vary by state and insurance plan.
05 — Be Prepared
"How is my data used?"
"What will this cost me?"
"Is this provider in-network?"
"Can I get a copy of my records?"