“Sweeping changes” is how Leon Rodriquez, of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR), characterized the effect of the final omnibus Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rule published in the Federal Register on January 25, 2013 at 78 Fed. Reg. 5566 (Omnibus Rule). There can be no disputing that statement. Indeed the 563-page Omnibus Rule makes a long list of significant changes to existing regulations. These include, among…