Hipaa Article Review And Evaluation

In the health care business, there are certain standards and laws that have been put in place to protect our patients and their personal health information. When a health care facility fails to protect their patient’s confidential information, the US Government may get involved and facilities may be forced to pay huge sums of money in fines, and risk damaging their reputation.

Of route, all responsible companies are looking to live on top of HIPAA requirements to avoid hassle while going through an audit, but as threats to patient facts grow, authorities compliance will possibly be the least of your concerns.

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

Under the HIPAA Security Rule, health care providers are required to conduct an accurate and thorough analysis of the potential risks and vulnerabilities. Protecting the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and privacy of data in health care is very important. For a risk analysis, health care providers would prioritize risks based on the severity of the impact that it would cause their patients and practices (Security Risk Analysis TipSheet, 2014). In addition, identifying the potential threats to patient privacy and security (Security Risk Analysis TipSheet, 2014). A risk analysis process would include determining the likelihood and impact of potential risk to electronic protected health information, implementing security measures to

HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a set of laws aimed to protect people from losing their health insurance coverage during change or loss of employment, to control health care fraud and abuse, and to maintain patient`s health information and/or status confidential. The origins of HIPAA go as far back as the 1990 when medical records were suggested to become computerized, management of health care records was questioned and portability of health insurance became an issue. HIPAA was introduced as the Kennedy-Kassebaum Bill, passed by Congress and signed by the former president Bill Clinton in August 1996. Even though the law itself was passed, the specifications were finalized subsequently; 1999 The Privacy Rule was completed, in 2000 the Transaction and Code Sets Final Rule and the Security Rule and the National Provider Identifier were finalized, and in 2006 The Enforcement Rule was concluded. These regulations are grouped into Title I - “Health Care Access, Portability, and Renewability” and Title II - “Preventing Health Care Fraud and Abuse”. HIPAA not only mandates health care institutions to comply, but also to educate their employees about the law. HIPAA applies to covered entities such as health insurance plans, health care clearinghouse such as billing companies, doctor offices, pharmacies and of course us, the medical laboratories. Its regulations require entities to have policies and procedures defining privacy requirements,

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is a US law aimed to advance the portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in both the group and individual markets, and to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery as well as other purposes26. The Act defines security standards for healthcare information, and it takes into account a number of factors including the technical capabilities of record systems used to maintain health information, the cost of security measures, the need for training personnel, the value of audit trails in computerized record systems, and the needs and capabilities of small healthcare providers. A person who maintains or transmits health information

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

A main key point I found interesting in this article is that HIPAA privacy regulations require covered entities to implement certain administrative,technical,and physical safeguards to protect the privacy of any

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.

Regulation placed upon the healthcare system only seek to improve safety and security of the patients we care for. The enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and the enactment of Meaningful Use Act the United States government has set strict regulations on the security of health information and has allotted for stricter penalties for non-compliance. The advancement of electronic health record (EHR) systems has brought greater fluidity and compliance with healthcare but has also brought greater security risk of protected information. In order to ensure compliance with government standards organizations must adapt

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

In most offices, and outpatient services has a team where the physician is unable to monitor the team at all times. For example, in a pharmacy setting there are pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and clerks at times. The majority of the time the clerks have the most patient contact where the pharmacists are unable to monitor them at all times making sure protected health information is not spread. In the HIPAA rules, covered entities include health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care professionals who electronically transmit any health information in connection with transactions for which HHS has adopted standards (Tomes, 2007). In writing, the people who are liable for violations are one those providers who bill electronically are covered entities. Directors or officers can commit violations by selling individually identifiable health information to a drug company for marketing purposes, they can also be charged if the director and or officer aided a covered entity’s commission of the HIPAA criminal act, and lastly can be heavily prosecuted if they commit identity theft utilizing patients protected health information (Tomes,

The penalties for violating the rules dictating by HIPAA are complicated because the guidelines are still very broad and the rules are still so new that with each case new standards are being set as to the way violations are being handled. Violation of HIPAA rules can result in civil and criminal consequences. There is case that marked history as the first health care organization to be fined for a HIPAA violation. Cignet Health in Maryland was fined $4.3 million for two violations: failure to provide patients a copy of their medical records within 60 days of a request and failure to cooperate with civil investigators. “HIPAA calls for civil and criminal penalties for privacy and security violations, including: -- fines up to $25K for multiple violations of the same standard in a calendar year -

The significance of patient privacy and the security of confidential information are increasingly vital given the approval of electronic health records. Healthcare providers have recognized striking prices due to security threats and subsequent breaches. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2002), under the Privacy Rule healthcare establishments must establish protections that establish procedures and rules that guarantee least levels of privacy in relation to patient information. When violations are recognized, it is required that a compliant be created by the individual or unit experiencing the violation. In the complaint, the name of the person who participated in the violation, in addition to the nature of the violation, must be comprehensive. The filing of the complaint initiates an investigation by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under HIPAA values (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). The establishment of a procedure related to privacy violations has resulted in many cases relating to electronic data breaches. Next is a consideration of two such cases to demonstrate the role of privacy in regards to HIPAA and electronic health database breaches.

All Americans require assurance and protection measures to shield their daily lives and healthcare laws, government regulations, and approaches do only that. The United States government manages these requirements with the expectation of enhancing the strength of the general population while building up the tools, alongside resources and programs to associate in the conveyance of medical care services. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) alongside the security law have affected preventive care services and how it is conveyed. HIPAA was intended to guarantee that the suitable systems were actualized to protect patient's data while getting care.