HIPAA Privacy Compliance

The HIPAA Privacy Rule, effective April 14, 2003, established national standards to guard the privacy of a patient's protected health information.

Protected health information includes:

  • Information created or received by a health care provider or health plan that includes health information or health care payment information plus information that personally identifies the individual patient or plan member.

Personal identifiers include:

  • A patient's name and email, web site and home addresses; identifying numbers (including Social Security, medical records, insurance numbers, biomedical devices, vehicle identifiers and license numbers); full facial photos and other biometric identifiers; and dates (such as birth date, dates of admission and discharge, death).

Additional privacy resources

UC Campus and Academic Health Center Privacy Liaisons

All UC campuses have appointed a HIPAA Privacy Officer. The Privacy Officer is the local campus administrative resource for implementation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

View the responsibilities of UC Privacy Liaisons.

Locations HIPAA Privacy Officer
UC Berkeley Scott Seaborn, Campus Privacy Officer
UC Davis  Minming Morri Wu, Associate Campus Counsel & Campus Privacy Officer
UC Davis Health System Melinda Mendoza, Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer
UC Irvine Thea Bullock, Campus Privacy Official
UC Irvine Academic Health Center Tyler Cowart, Compliance Privacy Officer
UCLA Kent Wada, Chief Privacy Officer
UCLA Health Services Benjamin "Ben" D. Bresnick, Interim Chief Privacy Officer 
UC Merced Deborah Motton, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research
UC Office of the President Noelle Vidal, Systemwide Privacy Compliance Manager
UC Riverside Campus (School of Medicine) Paul Hackman, SOM, Director of Clinical Compliance & Privacy
UC Riverside Student Health Wendy Alexis, Manager Quality & Compliance
UC San Diego Pegah Parsi, Campus Privacy Officer
UC San Diego Academic Health Center Ronald Skillens Jr., Interim Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer
UC San Francisco Vanessa Ridley, Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer
UC Santa Barbara Becky Steiger, Policy, Ethics & Compliance Officer
UC Santa Cruz  John Bollard, Associate Vice Chancellor Student Health and Wellness
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Pete Esacio, MD, Occupational Medical Director
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Robin Sanchez, Privacy Officer

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Notices of Privacy Practices

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UC Self-funded Health Plans

The University of California offers various health care plans to its employees and retirees. Some of the medical plans are funded by the University and others are fully insured by an insurance carrier. The plan provider, whether the University of California or an insurance carrier, is required by HIPAA to provide a notice of privacy practices. The University of California Health and Welfare Plans Notice of Privacy Practices applies to the University’s "self-funded" plans as required by HIPAA privacy regulations and is found under UC Notice of Privacy Practice at this website. If you are a member of an insured plan, the insurance carrier will make its privacy notice available to you.

UC understands that your medical information is personal and we are committed to protecting your information. In general, the medical information held at the University consists of information about your health plan enrollment. In some cases, it may also include information that you have provided to UC staff members to assist with the coordination of your benefits or to resolve a complaint or grievance.

If you have questions or need further information about the UC Health and Welfare Plans Notice of Privacy Practices, contact the UC Healthcare Plan Privacy Office, 300 Lakeside Drive, 6th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612, Attention: HIPAA Privacy Officer.

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