The document discusses the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and its implications for clinical research. HIPAA establishes privacy rules to protect patients' protected health information (PHI). It requires authorization from patients for disclosure of PHI for research purposes. Institutional review boards can grant waivers allowing use of PHI without individual authorization. Researchers must comply with HIPAA requirements regarding accounting for and reporting on disclosures of PHI. Covered entities like physicians can disclose limited PHI to researchers but must protect PHI provided.