The Health Privacy Working Group was created in June 1998 as an initiative of the Health Privacy Project of Georgetown University's Institute for Health Care Research and Policy. Its mission was to achieve common ground on "best principles" for health privacy, while identifying a range of options for putting those principles into practice. The Working Group is comprised of diverse stakeholders, including: disability and mental health advocates; health plans; providers; employers; standards and accreditation representatives; and experts in public health, medical ethics, information systems, and health policy.