Patients
have long awaited protection for their medical records,
and the medical privacy rules that the Clinton administration
put into motion were an attempt to do just that. Unfortunately,
there has been disagreement between consumer advocacy
groups and health care organizations about the effectiveness
of those rules.
The
Bush administration has put a temporary hold on the medical
privacy rules that former President Clinton had ordered
to take effect on February 26. According to MSNBC.com,
the administration said that the rules were put on hold
in order to allow lawmakers more time to review them and
decide if any changes need to be made. The effective
date has been pushed back to April 14th and
health providers will not be required to fully comply
with the regulations until April 14, 2003
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