| Medical Research on Prisoners |
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| In accordance with the Nuremberg Code, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) imposes strict requirements on researchers using prisoners as subjects.More... |
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| EMTALA and the 250-Yard Rule |
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| The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act imposes duties on hospitals with regard to patients who appear in their emergency rooms and are either medically unstable or are in active labor. The "250-yard rule" clarifies a hospital's obligation with regard to patients who suffer emergencies near, but outside the physical confines, of a hospital's emergency room.
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| Mandatory HIV Testing of Newborns |
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| The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), can be transferred from an HIV-positive mother to her child. Testing a newborn's antibodies after birth reveals whether the newborn has been exposed to HIV. Administering antiretroviral chemoprophylaxis (AZT) to at-risk newborns following delivery dramatically reduces their chances of developing HIV.More... |
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| RIGHT TO REQUEST PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION |
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| A "covered entity" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is generally permitted to use or disclose protected health information for research purposes without obtaining the individual's authorization to do so if it receives documented approval to waive the authorization in whole or in part from either an Institutional Review Board (usually applicable to institutions that receive federal funding for the research) or a Privacy Board (usually applicable to privately funded research institutions). More... |
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| USE OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION FOR SPECIALIZED GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS |
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| An individual's protected health information may be disclosed without obtaining the individual's authorization or providing him or her with an opportunity to agree or object to the disclosure for six types of "specialized government functions" identified in the Department of Health and Human Service's Privacy Rule and covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). More... |
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