美国的医疗服务行业必须遵守该国政府1996年颁布的《健康保险隐私及责任法案》（Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act，缩写 HIPAA）。该法案制定了一系列安全标准，就保健计划、供应商以及结算中心如何以电子文档的形式来传送、访问和存储受保护的健康信息做出详细的规定。法案规定在确保私密性的情况下保存病人信息档案六年，还详细规定了医疗机构处理病人信息规范，以及违法保密原则、通过电子邮件或未授权的网络注销病人档案的处罚方案。

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA; Pub.L. 104–191, 110 Stat. 1936, enacted August 21, 1996) was enacted by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It has been known as the Kennedy–Kassebaum Act or Kassebaum–Kennedy Act after two of its leading sponsors. Title I of HIPAA protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs. Title II of HIPAA, known as the Administrative Simplification (AS) provisions, requires the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans, and employers.