Health Care Provider Is A Covered Entity

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

Issues related to privacy and security laws regulations- Current HIPAA laws and regulations have not completely addressed the state and government laws, this leaves conflicts for those attempting to conform to them. Nonhealthcare entities that send, transmit and receive health information are limited and do not offer the same level of protection. HIM experts, whose capacity it is to ensure protection and confidentiality and look after security, are looked with a contention between upholding administrative consistency and meeting high expectation standards with the privacy assurances that cross over state limits. Not having mandated regulations implemented will under mind the need for government laws that exceeds all others, with the goal

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

HIPAA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act was signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton. The regulation

Another law and regulation currently faced by the Center for Disease Control is Health Information Privacy (HIPAA). "The HIPAA Privacy Rule provides federal protections for personal health information held by covered entities and gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information" (US Department of Health and Human Services). All of us believe our medical and other health information is private. Most of us believe our health information should be protected. We want to know who has that information. The privacy gives a person rights over his health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at it. This is a federal law. Health plans and most health care providers must follow these laws. There are organizations that do not have to follow the Privacy and Security Rules. Those organizations include life insurers, employers, many schools, school districts, and many law enforcement agencies. Other organizations are included.

It prevents employer insurance discrimination based on their health status, and reduces the amount of a period newly enrolled policy holders can be denied coverage of when they try to enroll in a new plan. All patient data will be protected as far as they camn and will not be given to anyone except for their designated care physicians or doctors. One and the most important approach of this act is to protect a patients or any individuals privacy that is described in Title IV, which explains the regulations and rules for the protection of a patient’s information. All healthcare providers (doctors, nurses etc...), health hospitals, clinics, and government health plans that use, keep in storage for a long period of time, or who give the information to another facility or doctor are required to agree and follow the privacy regulations and rules of the HIPAA law.

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

The HIPAA Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information (the security rule) “establishes national standards to protect individuals’ electronic personal health information that is created, received, used, or maintained by a covered entity” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). The security rule requires that specific standards be established and implemented into three categories; compliance in one category may overlap into another:

ABC Healthcare in order to comply with regulatory standards must understand the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) data security, storage security, and payment security requirements.

(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 2015) The Privacy Rule sets regulations regarding how organization utilize and release a person’s personal health information. Personal health information is any person’s health information that can identify a certain person that is sent or kept in any form. There are some exclusions to these rules such as in the case of education and employment records. These regulations extend to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically. (HHS.gov, n.d.)

These new provisions affect not only health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses, but a wide range of vendors and contractors that provide services to health care organizations. Previously, HIPAA applied only to the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information (known as "protected health information") by health care providers, health plans, and health care clearinghouses (known collectively as "covered entities"). Vendors providing administrative services to covered entities, such as legal services, accounting, information technology, financial support and similar services, were not directly subject to HIPAA's privacy and security provisions. They were, however, required to sign business associate agreements and thereby agree by contract to maintain the privacy and security of protected health information. Changes made by ARRA, expand the scope and application of HIPAA. Among the most far reaching provisions of ARRA are those that apply several of HIPAA's security and privacy requirements to business associates. In addition, business associates will be subject to civil and criminal penalties and enforcement proceedings for violations of HIPAA. The definition of a business associate is also being expanded to include organizations that provide data transmission of protected health information to covered entities and business associates and that require access on a routine basis to that protected health information. Examples of such organizations include health information exchange

HIPPA has created guidelines and regulations for insurers and consumers to educate themselves based on what is acceptable and unacceptable. Based on research (Landro, 2002) stated that, the healthcare industry staying from using email and Web marketing because of concerns based on HIPPA limitations and cautions from insurers to not communicate with consumers through electronic communications. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was put in place to reduce cost of administrative operational, fraud, to prevent unauthorized access, and to disclose information. The primary objective of the Privacy Rule is to shield patient’s health. According to (Berkowitz, 2011) he stated that, under the rules of HIPPA a healthcare provide

The Federal confidential laws pertains to ensuring that supports of health care and mental care client’s records and health information is regulated. Through guideline of which the federal department of health and human services have related according to dictation and stipulations. HIPPA regulations relates to health care supporters and the providers covered under the health plan protection to comply with the regulated rules. On March 26, 2013, HHS Final Omnibus Rule implemented pursuant to HIPAA which effectively coincide with the federal laws. In addition to the closing rule consisting of the security rule, privacy rule and the breach notification rule. The HIPPA law is so that consumers have right to whom and where they will authorize the

This one act has changed the processing of healthcare information within the institutions, physician office and any entity that deals with patient information. Health care information was now considered private and could only be viewed by those caring for the patient in some form to promote continuity of high quality care. The act gave the person receiving the medical care access to their medical information to understand their care and then ultimately control who views their private records. The final guidelines were created by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and released in August of 2002. Today, the act includes the vast health insurance and electronic medical record industry, and includes a substantial monetary fine for any privacy

Healthcare clearinghouses (entities that process nonstandard health information they receive from another entity into a standard or vice versa)