Lisa Sotto Discusses Health and Human Services Medical Privacy Law in Law360

HHS Data-Scrubbing Guidance Backs Strict Privacy Definitions

Law360

Lisa Sotto told Law360 that companies will be able to gain certainty from recent guidance that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will continue to interpret de-identification provisions conservatively, as evidenced by, for example, its articulation that the last four digits of a Social Security number [can be] considered protected health information. Companies benefit from the de-identification process because the use and disclosure of this type of data is exempt from HIPAA regulations and can be used for medical research and other general purposes.