Essay On Protected Health Information

US Congress created the Hipaa bill in 1996 because of public concern of how their private information was being used. It is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which Congress created to protect confidentiality, privacy and security of patient information. It was also for health care documents to be passed electronically. Hipaa is a privacy rule, which gives patients control over their health information. Patients have to give permission any healthcare provider can disclose any information placed in the individual’s medical records. It helps limit protected health information (PHI) to minimize the chance of inappropriate disclosure. It establishes national-level standards that healthcare providers must comply with and strictly investigates compliance related issues while holding violators to civil or criminal penalties if they violate the privacy of a person’s PHI. Hipaa also has boundaries for using and disclosing health records by covered entities; a healthcare provider, health plan, and healthcare clearinghouse. It also supports the cause of disclosing PHI without a person’s consent for individual healthcare needs, public benefit and national interests. The portability part of Hipaa guarantees patients health insurance to employees after losing a job, making sure health insurance providers can’t discriminate against people because of health status or pre-existing condition, and keeps their files safe while being sent electronically. The Privacy

This paper will examine the privacy rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996

The main goal of HIPAA is to protect unauthorized access and misuse of confidential health information. It allows for the safe storage of any health facts used, collected, transmitted or maintained by any health organization. It states that all health information about a particular client is completely confidential, regardless of what the format is and whether it is transmitted, maintained or collected. Protected information is that health information that already identifies the patient or could be used in order to identify the patient; it also relates to any of the patient’s past, present or future health conditions, any treatment the patient receives and any payment the patient makes toward their care.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a set of national standards created for the protection of health information; it is also known as a “Privacy Rule”. This rule was employed in 1996 by the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to address the use and disclosure of an individual’s health information as well as the standards for the individual’s privacy rights to understand and control the manner in which their information is used.

First is the privacy rule, which is meant to guard the confidentiality of all protected health information. This is defined as any information that includes the patient’s name or other identifiers, such as a birth date or medical record number. Protected health information can be data that is written, spoken, or in electronic form. The privacy rule came about because many healthcare workers have been far too willing to talk casually about their patients without thinking how this violates their confidentiality, The Final Rule modifies the Privacy Rule to extend direct liability for disclosures of PHI by business associates. However, the rule does not subject

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed by congress in 1996, and helps to ensure the privacy and security of Electronic Health Records (EHR's). By following the rules and regulations set forth under HIPAA, we can ensure the safety of patients' EHR's. We are responsible for protecting patients' records, and there are many measures we can take in order do this. Firstly, we must always keep patients' health information private. This means no discussing the records with people that are not authorized to know, and even then, we should only disclose the minimum necessary amount of information possible. For covered entities, we must designate a privacy and security officer to ensure the privacy

The protected health information (PHI) that does not require consent from the patient, but still keeping information safe with the HIPPA law is information that has been de-identified. De-identified health information is information that has been stripped of all a patient’s personal data. There are eighteen elements that are removed before any information can be requested. The information that is stripped or made de-identified are: names, all geographical subdivisions smaller than a state, all elements dates (except year), telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, medical record numbers, health plan beneficiary numbers, account numbers, vehicle identifiers including license plate numbers,

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was created to protect the personal and medical information of a patient obtaining medical treatment. HIPAA came into effect in 1996 and it was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, after approval by congress. The HIPAA covers personal information such as name, date of birth, address, etc. Results of tests, diagnosis and treatments for ailments are also covered under HIPAA. A persons protected health information can be divulged if express permission is given by the person that the protected information pertains to. There are exceptions for permission to divulge information which can include an investigation of a crime, suspected cases of child abuse or other law enforcement purposes as required by law. Protected health information (PHI) can be disclosed in aiding treatment or payment for a service. Title II of the health insurance portability and accountability (HIPAA) establishes the rules of compliance for electronic processing of transmissions, disclosure of PHI ( Protected Health Information), or the

The privacy rule applies to personal health information in any form, electronic or paper, which includes the entire medical record. Individuals have full access to their information, can limit who can gain access to his or her records, can request changes to their medical record if there’s any reason they suspect that the information isn't accurate. In addition, the private information shared is kept to the minimal amount needed. Also, the patients have the privilege to decide whether or not to release their protected health information or PHI for purposes unrelated to any treatments or payment issues, such as research project. (Krager & Krager, 2008) HIPAA implemented specific code sets for diagnosis and procedures to be used in all transactions. Covered entities must adhere to the content and format requirements of each standard. (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, n.d)The security rule supplements the privacy rule; it deals specifically with electronic PHI or ePHI. It applies to covered entities that transmit health information in electronically. The Security Rule requires covered entities to keep appropriate

Enacted in 1966, HIPAA introduced guidelines governing privacy and security of all protected health information (PHI) and protected health information created electronically. While some HIPAA rules have been enforced rigorously than others, the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) has detailed significantly more rigid requirements.

Any patient that is seen by a physician within the United States is to be protected by the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” or HIPAA, which was passed into law in 1996 (Jani, 2009). All health care facilities dealing with any protected health information (PHI) are to ensure that all physical/electronic processes are safeguarded from any third party entity or unauthorized personnel according to HIPAA. All health care data to include any medical insurance

Ten years ago after much challenges and questionable skepticism, the HIPAA policy became effective and has been shaping healthcare one regulatory policy at a time. The evolution of the HIPAA privacy act helped establish the HIPAA Security Rule which was published in 2003 and became effective in 2005, and then eventually led to the HIPAA Enforcement Rules and the Breach Notification Rule. With it joint fortification of the 2009 HITECH Act and HIPAA’s modifications to regulations, it was released in January 2013 to the industry (American Health Information Management Association, 2013).

Protected health information (PHI) is information in a medical record or set of medical data that can be used to identify an individual and was created during the normal healthcare process (1). Medical identity theft is the use of PHI to obtain medical care, drugs, or submit claims to insurance in another person’s name (2). To help prevent medical identity theft, the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in 1996 with the purpose of directing how patient is used and can be made available. HIPAA is typically divided into 2 rules: the privacy rule and the security rule. The Privacy rule establishes the standards to protect individual healthcare data and applies to health plans, clearinghouses, and healthcare providers that conduct certain electronic healthcare

3.) Under HIPAA, covered entities (healthcare providers, health plans and healthcare clearinghouse) must comply with the privacy rules. A covered entity may develop its own privacy rules that would accommodate its own needs of protected health information (PHI) management but it most comply with the HIPAA guidelines. It is the responsibility of the entity to put in place a privacy official to oversee the policies, procedures and be on hand and available to be contacted in reference to the privacy rule. A patient should be given a privacy notice act at his/her health facility stating how their (PHI) is being used and to whom it will be shared. The covered entity should include in the notice their duty to assure the patients privacy as well as how and whom to contact if there is a complaint or they feel that their rights have been violated. As of 2009 the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) handles complaints that are made on privacy policies, procedure and practices of HIPAA covered entities.

The principles that allow covered entities such as government agencies to release protected health information only with the patient’s consent is that PHI will be released in compliance with the regulations governing reporting requirements. There are times where the government can release protected health information, the HIPAA Privacy Rule provides that protected