Hipaa, Health Insurance And Portability Act Of 1996

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HIPAA, (Health Insurance and Portability Act of 1996) outlines rules and regulations and the rights of patients to access their healthcare information such as notifications of privacy practices, copying and viewing medical records, and amendments. This paper explains why confidentiality is important today and discusses recourses patients can use if they believe their privacy has been violated. This paper will also discuss criminal and civil penalties’ that can occur for breaking HIPAA privacy rules. Keywords: HIPAA, health information, patients’ rights Patients’ Rights Under HIPAA The Health Insurance and Portability Act of 1996, known by the acronym HIPAA, is a civil rights law that was passed to give patients…show more content…
Notice of Privacy Practices The Notice of Privacy Practices must be provided for the patients’ first admission into a healthcare facility. This notice describes how the privacy rule allow providers to use the patient 's’ PHI, explains their privacy rights and provides contact information for complaints (Herold, R., & Beaver, K, 2014). A “good faith” effort must be made to obtain a written acknowledgment from the patient that he has received the Notice of Privacy Practices. One issue that has been noted is the wording of some notices are cumbersome and not written clear enough for the average layperson to understand its meaning. Access, Amendments, and Accounting of Disclosures Under HIPAA, patients have the right to access their records in designated record sets and obtain copies of them. This right extends for as long as the hospital keeps the records (Individuals ' Right under HIPAA, 2016). Parents have rights to access their minor child’s medical records, although the provider may reserve the right to limit disclosure of PHI to a minor’s parent or guardian if they believe the minor to be in danger if that information is released. This has drawn much controversy from parents who believe they have a right to their minor child’s PHI in order to be well informed of their healthcare needs. According to state law, providers have a right to charge a reasonable cost-based fee for making copies and for postage, however, they may not charge a fee for
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