Privacy Rule

As used in the HIPAA, the Privacy Rule refers to the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information," 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164. The Privacy Rule was promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It was published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2000 and became effective April 14, 2001. The Department of Health and Human Services modified certain standards in the Privacy Rule and published the modified standards in the Federal Register on August 14, 2002. These modified rules became effective on October 15, 2002.