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So I want to start by thanking Farzad Mostashari and my partners in the office of the national
coordinator for their leadership in convening this event and for all the partners here from
government, from industry, from the consumer sectors, for their -- advocacy sectors, leadership
empowering consumers to understand and to drive their healthcare.
As you have heard from so many here today, a patient's access to information about their
healthcare is the keystone to them getting quality of care.The stories that you heard
from Kolya Kirienko and others underscore how important that access is.
You heard from secretary Sebelius earlier that as part of our ongoing efforts across
the department to empower patients to be informed partners with their healthcares and making
healthcare decisions, we have now proposed a rule that would give patients or their representatives
the ability to access their laboratory test results directly from laboratories.
The office of -- for civil rights is issuing this proposed rule jointly with the center
for Medicare and medicaid services and the center for disease control.Which are responsible
for secretary -- laboratory regulation under the clinical laboratory improvement act of
1988.At the same time Farzad and secretary Sebelius really nailed it when they say the
trust is an important key to making this all work.Now more than ever consumer confidence
in the privacy and security of health information is paramount as we undergo this transformation
in the way in which we do the business of healthcare.The HHS office for civil rights
is committed to using every vehicle it has to advance and enforce sensible protections
for the privacy and security of protected health information.While the HIPAA and privacy
role set national standards for healthcare information it require it is commitment of
covered entities and business partners to build a culture of compliance within the workplace.policies
and procedures cannot be binders on a shelf.I know as a prosecutor and as a healthcare provider
and lawyer that this is a reality.To avoid enforcement, covered entities must ensure
they're always in compliance with the HIPAA privacy and security roles, a robust compliance
program includes employee training, vigilant implementation of policies and procedures,
regular internal audits and a prompt corrective action to respond to these incidents.Providers
are not alone in this effort.We are working in tandem with our partners at the office
of the national coordinator on a national education campaign geared at consumers and
providers.Through this initiative OCR will deliver enhanced technical assistance to providers
on compliance with HIPAA and to remind consumers that if that I believe there's been a violation
of their rights, they have a right to file a complaint.But this is an important transformation
that we are undergoing right now.We look forward to working with you as we move forward together
in our shared mission of building a secure and trusted infrastructure for healthcare
technology. Thank you and thank you all.