To:  All CUNY Faculty and Graduate Students

Subject:  Important Message from Chancellor Matthew Goldstein


      Effective April 14, 2003, there are new federal regulations issued
under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA")
that deal with the privacy of individually identifiable health information.
These privacy regulations may have a significant impact on the human
subjects research conducted at CUNY and could cause the interruption of
this research unless the affected researchers comply with the regulations.

      We believe that CUNY is not an entity that is directly covered by
HIPAA.  CUNY investigators will therefore not be covered by HIPAA unless,
in order to conduct research, they use or disclose health information that
has been created by or obtained from HIPAA-covered entities, such as
hospitals, physicians' offices, and many social service and mental health
agencies.

      The attached memo from Vice Chancellor Schaffer provides an
explanation of the kinds of human subjects research that may be affected by
HIPAA.  If any of the issues addressed in the memo apply to you, please
respond to the survey that accompanies the memo and begin working with your
IRB Chairs and Administrators to assure that your research will not be
interrupted.

      If you have any difficulty opening the attachment, you will be able
to find the memo on CUNY Research Foundation website at
http://www.rfcuny.org.

            You will be able to obtain the necessary authorization and
application forms from your IRB Chairs and Administrators next week, and
they will also be available online at the CUNY and CUNY Research Foundation
websites.

      Thank you for your prompt attention.

      Chancellor Matthew Goldstein