HIPAA Case Study

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

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.

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.

All healthcare providers, health organizations, and government health plans that use, store, maintain, or transmit patient health care information are required to comply with the privacy regulations of the HIPAA

HIPAA, short for The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is a privacy act that helps protect your health information. It was created to assure that individuals’ health information is protected safely and securely by allowing the right to protect the release of personal information to unauthorized individuals or organizations. It is important to know what your rights are, know when they have been violated and what you can do, know what the civil and criminal penalties for disclosure are, and know why HIPAA is important. ADD MORE

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA is related to the privacy of patients when it comes to their medical records and health information. It controls how the information can be shared with others. Without HIPAA, patients are more wary of sharing information with their health care providers, which influences the care they receive. Every patient is asked to sign a HIPAA form when seen by a doctor to ensure they understand that their information will only be shared with relevant parties. Relevant parties could include family members and law enforcement depending on the type of problem.

HIPAA (1966) can be found on the U. S. Department of Health & Human Services or HHS website, www.hhs.gov. The website gives information on an individual’s rights concerning their medical records. It also provides instruction how to make a complaint if rights are violated, and penalties to anyone who unlawfully discloses an individual’s medical information.

The impact of HIPAA with adhering to rules pertaining to confidentiality and release PHI (protected health information) HIPAA rules give you new rights to know about and to control how your health information gets used. Y our healthcare provider and your insurance company have to explain how they'll use and disclose health information. You can ask for copies of all this information, and make appropriate changes to it. If someone wants to share your health information, you have to give your formal consent. You have the right to complain to HHS (health and human services) about violations of HIPAA rules. Health information is to be used only for health purposes. In HIPAA under the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information

The HIPAA Privacy Rule creates business processes to protect the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI). PHI includes any information about health status, type of care, or payment related to care that can be related to an individual. The term is broad, and generally includes all information contained in a patient’s medical record and payment history. It includes demographics, in paper, electronic, or oral form. PHI is not limited to the documents contained in the official medical record. The HIPAA Privacy Rule allows the use and disclosure of this PHI for treatment, payment, and health care operations without written authorization from the patient. Other uses and disclosures require permission or consent from the individual.

First and foremost, what is HIPAA and what does it stand for? HIPAA is an acronym for a law passed called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This US law was passed on August 21st, 1996 and was put in place to protect the privacy of patient medical records and other related healthcare information. Since there are a lot of misconceptions in regards to HIPAA, healthcare professionals have many questions to ensure they are not only following the law, but providing the best service they can for their patients while protecting their rights. These questions range from public health uses and disclosures, research uses and disclosures, and litigations concerning a person’s rights under HIPAA.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was formed in order to protect patients. It was developed in order to keep patients health records private and to give patients rights when it comes to their healthcare. One would assume that health insurance companies would fully comply with and ensure that this policy is upheld when it comes to their customers. With technology making so many advancements so quickly this privacy act should be more easily enforced than when it was first brought into practice in 1996. However, in July 2017 the health insurance company Aetna had a huge privacy breach. More than 12,000 patients were exposed for taking HIV

HIPAA is a public federal law gives patients a legal right to keep their health information private and secure, but it also allows healthcare providers to disclose patient information for patient care, as needed (Iron Mountain, 2015). HIPAA included provisions that required the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to adopt national standards for electronic health care transactions, unique patient identifiers, and security (Ong, 2011). Being aware that advances in electronic technology would risk the privacy of health information, Congress also included provisions that mandated privacy protections for individually identifiable health information. HIPAA is the first government mandate that regulates how healthcare providers share

In chapter 8 I learned that HIPAA is rules for collection, use and disclosure and personal health information. It Applies to all health information custodians (HICs) in Ontario and to those who receive PHI from HICs. However, it further excludes organizations that are not HICs. For example, employers and insurance companies that receive data from individuals. In all but few cases, HICs have to obtain consent to collect, use and/ or disclosure PHI. It further allows for people to access and request the correction of their PHI. Consumers are allowed permissions on whether health information can be used or shared for certain purposes, such as for marketing. They are allowed to get reports on when and why health information was shared for certain

HIPPA- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, this act establishes national standards to protect Individual medical records and health information. The HIPAA regulations apply to the following entities: health care providers who transmit any health information electronically, health plans (including Medicare and Medicaid programs), and health care clearinghouses. These security standards are implemented to protect Personal Health Information (PHI) that is either stored or transmitted electronically. Use of Internet and electronic devices to store this PHI creates new vulnerabilities; all such risks are to be eliminated stands as a major objective of HIPPA security compliances

In the health care industry, the use of technology such as smart phones and social media brings wide range of discussions related to the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing it. For the purpose of this assignment, I am focusing on the following areas; HIPAA, Legal, & Regulatory related smart phone and social media usage, scenario ending, and advantages as well as disadvantages of the usage of smart phone and social media in health care.