Implementing HIPAA privacy regulations in pharmacy practice.

A worthy goal of HIPAA is to protect the privacy of patient health information. Final regulations for achieving this goal have been issued, and all covered entities, including all pharmacies that transmit health information electronically, must comply with these regulations by April 14, 2003. Pharmacists are strongly advised to begin educating themselves about the HIPAA privacy regulations and taking steps toward implementation as soon as possible. Because of the complexity of the privacy rule and the lingering ambiguities about how to implement the regulations, pharmacies also are encouraged to obtain expert guidance and stay up-to-date with the regulations and implementation recommendations posted by OCR.