Patients' access to test reports: changes to CLIA regulations and HIPAA Privacy Rule.

The Joint Commission recently revised Information Management (IM) Standard IM.02.01.03, element of performance (EP) 5, Note 2, for laboratories. The revision is a result of a final rule effective April 7, 2014,* in which the US Department of Health & Human Services modified the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. The following three changes are intended to provide patients (or their personal representatives) with a greater ability to access their laboratory test results.