The Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, more commonly referred to as HIPAA was enacted in 1996.  HIPPA was designed to provide uniformity in data exchange, promote patient privacy and establish security standards for electronic storage of health data.   HIPAA’s “privacy standard”  is based on the principal that patients have the fundamental right to expect that their medical information and corresponding medical records will remain confidential and secure.  The privacy standards conveyed authority for compliance inspection by the Department of Health and Human Services and (HHS) and at some later point, enforcement and penalty standards.