OCR and ONC Issue Spanish Versions of Model Notices of Privacy Practices

​The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) have issued Spanish versions of their model notices of privacy practices that healthcare providers can use to communicate with their patients. OCR and ONC developed the model notices to help organizations comply with the updated Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule, which requires healthcare providers to distribute a notice that provides a clear, user-friendly explanation of their privacy practices and patients' privacy rights with respect to their personal health information (see the October 11, 2013, Issues in Continuing Care Risk Management). According to the agencies, providing information to patients in their primary language helps give them more meaningful access to quality healthcare.