Patient Access and Interoperability Rule Explained

At Group Health Cooperative of Eau Claire, your privacy is important to us and we value your trust. The Patient Access and Interoperability Rule was enacted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2020. The Cooperative must comply with the Patient Access and Interoperability Rule and it is important you understand what this is and how you can protect yourself and your information.

Under the Patient Access and Interoperability Rule, health insurance companies, as well as hospitals and clinics, must make your protected health information available to you through various third-party applications, such as mobile apps on your smartphone or tablets.


How does it work?

When you start using one of these third-party applications, during the set-up process it will ask you where you would like the app to get your health information. If you identify Group Health Cooperative of Eau Claire as the source, you will be directed to a login page, similar to the login page to your Group Health Cooperative of Eau Claire website account. Using your current login and password, you can choose to allow this third-party application access to your information.


What you need to know

While we understand it can be helpful for you to have convenient access to your health information within the third-party application, it is important you understand the Cooperative cannot ensure your personal health information is safe and secure once they have access to it. Once you agree to use the third-party application to transmit your information, you assume the risk involved by allowing us to share your personal health information with the application. Once your health information is transmitted to a third-party app, it is no longer protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Remember, if you do not consent to share your information with any third-party apps, Group Health Cooperative of Eau Claire will not share your information.