For patients, their caregivers and consumers across the country, HIPAA is a fundamental protection for people as they make their way through the health care landscape. The HIPAA Privacy and Security rules are necessary and core to protecting patient privacy.

The health technology landscape has evolved greatly in the last few years; we now have a much expanded universe of smartphone and mobile apps, remote monitoring devices, wearables and other consumer-facing apps that help to collect, send, manage and use one’s health data. However, federal laws governing portability and privacy have not kept up.

As patient, caregiver and consumer advocates, we are supportive of efforts to improve care coordination and reform our health care delivery system. The lack of coordination and communication is a ubiquitous consumer complaint about the U.S. health care system, and is a key driver of poor quality and unaffordable care. We support appropriate and secure information sharing among team members to promote the best possible care outcomes, including with social service agencies and community-based support programs.