Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPAA)

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

Many healthcare professionals and organizations have not been following the regulations set forth by HIPAA. Whenever violations of HIPAA’s privacy or security laws occur the organizations responsible must be held accountable resulting in a fine or penalty. Penalties provide incentive for organizations to guarantee patient privacy and security. Recently, certain people have failed to follow through with the laws and restrictions and were forced to accept the penalty. This paper will provide three real examples of such HIPAA violations as well as solutions or ways each violation could have been prevented.

In 1996, the HIPPA act was passed. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was directed to improve the areas in the health field. For instance, lowering the number of errors and mistreatment, for individuals to have the access to transfer health coverage according to their present situation, and most importantly it monitors security and confidentiality information to ensure its being controlled in an accurate manner. This act gives congress ability to govern financial matter such as, federal level funding processes pertaining to different health documentation. Providing quality care while protecting patient’s information is a priority controlled under HIPAA, which accepts collaboration with all state and federal

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act also known as HIPAA was first signed into law on the federal level in 1996. Since it was signed into law it has had a huge effect on patient’s privacy, healthcare workers and even insurance company’s. “HIPAA is intended to improve efficiency throughout health care and requires that health care providers adhere to standardized national privacy and confidentiality protections.” (OMA p .236). It’s an invaluable tool that has created a standard of compliance across the healthcare field.

During this research, there has been a collection of data that had been connected to the instances of HIPAA violations within the United States. There are various cases that have been reported through patients and employees where very personal medical information has been exposed unlawfully for personal gain. These cases have not only put a company at reputational risk. But these cases can also place a patient and or healthcare company in a terrible financial stipulation. This thesis will include a series of charts and tables that describe the fluctuation of such cases involving different examples of HIPAA violations. Not only will there be data of these instances but there will be illustrations of how both patients and healthcare employees exemplify HIPAA violations. These cases will be verified from an external and internal evaluation. Suggestive protocol will be demonstrated to guide one along to ensure the possibility of another case of HIPAA violation is prevented. Protocols and examples are being credited by diverse information.

Most people have a basic understanding about HIPAA and what it entails, but for future healthcare leaders, it is a critical issue. The goals behind the HIPAA privacy rules are very beneficial for keeping individual’s health information private, but it does place a heavy burden on organizations to ensure the information remains protected. Healthcare leaders have always had to adapt to change, but it is becoming increasingly necessary to have leaders that can adapt quicker than ever. Not only do they need to keep up with the technological advances in healthcare, but they also need to become compliant with the new and ever-changing healthcare laws. Numerous modifications have been implemented under HIPAA in the

Although HIPAA (Health insurance portability and accountability) is a standard for health care providers nationwide, there are rare instances in which HIPAA is violated. There are a number of ways HIPAA can be violated. HIPPA’s Privacy Rule applies only to covered entities – health plans, health care clearinghouses, and certain health care providers. The rule requires covered entities to obtain satisfactory assurance, in writing, form its business associate that the associate will appropriately safeguard the protected health information. Before delving into examples of HIPAA violations, let’s review HIPAA Regulations and laws.

practitioners in the United States, previous legal protections at the federal, tribal, state, and local

In 1996, President Clinton and the US Congress passed/signed the act of HIPPA. HIPPA was enacted to maintain confidentiality of their patient’s information and to protect health insurance coverage for families and workers when they lose or change their job (portability). HIPPA set standards to respect the individual’s rights by exercising such procedures, authorizing and disclosing information. This means that anybody that works at a daily clinical or administrative job should never under any circumstances speak about the patients. If HIPAA violations are violated, this can greatly impact the person working in the medical field. Not only are violations expensive, but the penalties for noncompliance is based on the level of negligence. Criminal

HIPAA complaint procedures protect the rights of all persons and their right to privacy. As technology continues to advance, the need for more stringent and relevant regulations has grown. The HIPAA Act, aims to provide

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

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

Our case assignment clearly shows that Dr. Williams acted unethically and violated HIPAA by showing his patient’s health record while seeking advice from a friend. His violation was specifically indentified in the Privacy Rule, which protects PHI “held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral” (Office for Civil Rights, Privacy Brief, 2003). Whether Dr. Williams is a covered entity or a business associate with a contract is unclear but we can be sure that electronic health care transactions occur in his clinic subjecting him to the Privacy Rule along with other federal statutes and regulations.

Release or not to release is the question in today’s healthcare? Being a patient, and going to a doctor’s appointment has really changed versus how it was years ago. Most of us as patients know that we have a right to our own health information, but how is this beneficial to us as patients and healthcare providers? As healthcare is increasingly becoming complex what are ways to enforce these policies and rules? HIPAA rules and standards will need to be the same in each state so there is interoperability the proper way, but will we be able to really accomplish this? This paper will discuss these aspects and ways to overcome these obstacles that are occurring.

Health Care Providers account for any facility that provides any type of physical or mental care such as therapeutic, rehabilitative, preventive and diagnostic care as well as is paid for healthcare (Dreyzehner). Any business that receives health related information from hospitals billing services and deals with processing that information is part of the Health Care Clearinghouse entity, because they have access to sensitive information about patient’s financial records that needs to be protected under HIPPA. Programs known as Medicare and Medicaid are created to facilitate patients pay for their medical cost, which causes these programs to acquire personal, medical and financial information of their patients. These programs are part of the Health Plans, and HIPPA ensures that all of the information is safe and patients continue to be provided with health insurance.