The United States Congress created the HIPAA bill in 1996 due to public concern about how their private information was being used. This is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, created by Congress to protect the confidentiality, privacy and security of patient information. It was also envisaged that health documents would be transmitted electronically. HIPAA is a privacy rule that gives patients control over their health information. Patients must give permission to any healthcare provider to disclose any information placed in the individual's medical record. Helps limit protected health information (PHI) to minimize the possibility of inappropriate disclosure. It establishes nationwide standards that healthcare providers must meet and rigorously investigates compliance issues, sentencing violators to civil or criminal penalties if they violate the privacy of a person's PHI. HIPAA also places limits on the use and disclosure of medical records by covered entities; a health care provider, a health plan, and a health care clearinghouse. It also supports the cause of disclosing protected health information without a person's consent for individual health needs, public benefits, and national interests. The portability portion of HIPAA guarantees patient health insurance to employees after they lose their jobs, making sure health insurance providers cannot discriminate against people due to health status or pre-existing conditions and keeps their files at safe when sending electronically. The privacy law protects individual health information and requires healthcare providers to obtain consent to release any medical information and to explain how private medical records are protected. It also allows patients to receive their medical records from any...half of a sheet of paper......blank computer screen and/or move the computer away so customers can't see what's there on the screen and use a secure network to receive new prescriptions or request refills. A patient must be informed and given permission to allow a list of his or her medications to be provided to a marketing company. The authorization must indicate what the communication and use of the data is intended for and the expiry date of the authorization. In a community practice, a pharmacist cannot discuss treatment with anyone unless the patient signs the authorization. In an institutional practice the patient can call the pharmacist and give permission to speak to a doctor if he or she can speak. In an emergency, such as a heart attack or a car accident, the doctor can call the pharmacist to obtain information without the patient's consent. The patient must provide written authorization in a municipal pharmacy.