The privacy regulations consent requirement will be more of a departure from current practice for some providers than for others. Most health care providers, with the exception of pharmacists, obtain consent from patients to release information to insurers for payment purposes. The new requirement adds pharmacists to those providers obligated to obtain written consent before they can use or disclose patient information for routine health care purposes. These purposes now include treatment and a range of health care management activities as well as payment. Supporters of the requirement believe that the process of signing a consent form provides an opportunity to inform and focus patients on their privacy rights. Others, however, are skeptical and assert that most patients will simply sign the form with little thought. In addition, provider and other organizations interviewed are concerned that the new consent requirement poses implementation difficulties. They contend that it could cause delays in filling prescriptions for patients who do not have written consents on file with their pharmacies, impede the ability of hospitals to obtain patient information prior to admission, hamper efforts to assess health care quality by precluding the use of patient records from years past, and increase administrative burdens on providers.