HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. This Act, among other things addresses (and hopefully insures, as well as something can) your rights to how, when and by whom your medical and health information is shared. It contains important information that you need to know concerning the privacy rights that you hold for your medical and health related information. O.K., so how to explain this Act simply?  Gotcha! You can't, because, remember, this is our government. The easiest way to learn about this document is to ask your doctor for a copy of the consent form that they use. It will still be complicated, but decidedly easier to understand and use than the official documents. I am still looking for someone who will allow us to copy or link to their simplified version. In the meantime, I am including a couple of links for you. I found this copy on the CMS website, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa/hipaa2/general/background/pl104191.asp which I found on their HIPAA page: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa/hipaa2/general/default.asp#background Here is a link to the “United States Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights-HIPAA, Medical Privacy, the national standards to protect the privacy of personal health information�? http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/finalreg.html Scroll down to “Privacy Rule.�?In that paragraph you will find “Unofficial Version - [PDF 2.8M]."  Have fun, it's fifty-five (55) pages. While we can expect that our medical providers will maintain and support our rights to privacy, we hold some responsibility in this regard, as well.  I'm always glad to see how supportive we are of one another, especially when we share our similar experiences.  However, please remember that, even though one needs to be a member to post, we keep our site open for viewing to anyone who searches for information about SOM, or just happens to stumble across our site.  So, please be careful about using your real name or sharing too much specific information about your location. "As I see it, every day you do one of two things: build health or produce disease in yourself." Adelle Davis