HHSDepartment of Health and Human Services

The federal department that oversees U.S. public health, including the agencies that enforce HIPAA and certify health IT.

Reviewed June 2026 by Enterprise Health

Key facts

Cabinet department overseeing U.S. public health and human services.
Parent of CDC, CMS, FDA, the Office for Civil Rights (HIPAA) and ONC.
Its Office for Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.

What it means

HHS is the parent department for the CDC, CMS, FDA, the Office for Civil Rights (which enforces HIPAA) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). Its rules shape how an occupational and employee-health record protects PHI, exchanges data, and qualifies as certified electronic health record technology.

Frequently asked

Which HHS office enforces HIPAA?

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Other HHS components — CMS, CDC, ONC — set the quality, public-health and certification rules a health record must meet.

How is HHS relevant to workforce health?

Its agencies define how a record protects PHI (OCR/HIPAA), exchanges data and earns certification (ONC), and reports quality (CMS). Together they shape what a certified occupational-health system must do.

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