[nradov]

You have misunderstood. The HIPAA (not "HIPPA") Privacy Rule doesn't stunt science. It's easy to request patient consent for using PHI, and properly de-identified data isn't even considered to be PHI.

https://privacyruleandresearch.nih.gov/pr_08.asp

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/index.ht...