The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“Privacy Rule”) established a set of national standards for the protection of certain health information. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued the Privacy Rule to implement the requirements of HIPAA. The HIPAA Privacy Rule protects all “individually identifiable health information” held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral. The Privacy Rule calls this information “protected health information” (“PHI”). The Liberty Township Fire Department (LTFD) is a covered entity and, as a result, has specific obligations as required by the HIPAA Privacy Rule. This policy establishes the requirements and best practices for LTFD personnel to follow to ensure Privacy Rule compliance.