Do Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules apply to workplace wellness programs? Well, it depends. If it’s administered as part of an insurance plan, the data collected is personal health information. If it’s self-administered, the employer is not a covered entity and the data is not protected by HIPAA rules. Such are the demarcations outlined in new guidance issued by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights this week. The document also offers tips on who should have access to the data in the workplace and how the data should be protected.
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