HHS Releases HIPAA Regulations with Updates Incorporating Omnibus Rule Changes

By:  Adam H. Greene

In January 2013, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the HIPAA Omnibus Rule in the Federal Register, the most significant changes to the HIPAA regulations since they were first promulgated.  These changes, however, are not yet reflected in the Code of Federal Regulations.  For those of you who have been jumping back and forth between the prior codifications of the HIPAA regulations and the more recent HIPAA Omnibus Rule, there is good news.  HHS has released an updated version of the HIPAA regulations, which incorporates the recent changes from the Omnibus Rule.  The updated regulations are available here, which is the “unofficial version.”  The official version will not be available until title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations is updated, likely in October.