A group of eight Congress members sent a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell outlining disappointment in the lack of HHS' actions taken on HIPAA technical guidance for technology companies developing mobile health apps and connected devices.
The letter refers to comments HHS made in November 2014. The agency indicated it would address "insufficient guidance" on HIPAA, but the Congress members write little progress has been made.
"More than 15 months have passed since you outlined a number of commitments to Congress. The sluggish pace of work since has been very disappointing. While HHS can point to the publication of a single document earlier this month as progress, the sum of its efforts reveals a worrisome lack of urgency. At this stage, a detailed plan with concrete details is required," the letter reads.
The letter is signed by U.S. Representatives:
• Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.)
• Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.)
• Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.)
• Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.)
• Blake Farenthold (R-Texas)
• Will Hurd (R-Texas)
• Ted Lieu (D-Calif.)
• Tom Marino (R-Pa.)