HIPAA--Implications for research.

Privacy, anonymity, and informed consent are the hallmarks of current research conduct. How do the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations regarding individually identified health information and protected health information affect research? The purpose of this article is to discuss ways that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is influencing the conduct of research, including the implications for institutional review boards, recruitment of subjects, obtaining consent, access to data, de-identification of data, authorization to disclose data, and the processing, transmission, and storage of collected data.