The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act

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 or more commonly known as HIPAA was made into a federal law in 1996 and came about to serve multiple tasks, to improve efficiency of health care by reducing costs, lift administrative burdens on health care and to better protect the privacy of patients personal health care information.

. HIPAA privacy rules are complicated and extensive, and set forth guidelines to be followed by health care providers and other covered entities such as insurance carriers and by consumers. HIPAA is very specific in its requirements regarding the release of information, but is not as specific when it comes to the manner in which training and policies are developed and delivered within the health care industry. This paper will discuss how HIPAA affects a patient's access to their medical records, how and under what circumstances personal health information can be released to other entities for purposes

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

Before the enactment of HIPAA, there were no federal regulations relating to health care. According to Solove (2013), Congress passed laws relating to privacy of driver license, cable television, school, phone, and video rental records, but none relating to health

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.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA is a statute endorsed by the U.S. Congress in 1996. It offers protections for many American workers which improves portability and continuity of health insurance coverage. The seven titles of the final law are Title I - Health care Access , Portability, Title II - Preventing Health Care Fraud and Abuse; administrative simplification; Medical Liability Reform; Title III – Tax-related Health Provisions; Title IV – Application and

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.

6. A breach of confidentiality can result in what consequences for a health care professional? The penalties for violating HIPAA range from civil penalties of up to $100 per person per incident for minor improper disclosures of health information, and up to $25,000 for multiple violations of the same standard in a calendar year. Federal criminal liability for improper disclosure of information or for obtaining information under false pretenses carries sanctions (fines) of $50,000 and one year in prison. The liability for obtaining protected health information under false pretenses with the intent to sell, transfer, or use the information for personal gain or for a malicious action, such as Medicare fraud, carries penalties of $250,000 and/or up to ten years in prison. Severe penalties are in effect if lax security allows health information to be stolen. There is also a risk of a class action suit as well as public relations damage to the institution’s or physician’s image.

I think that HIPAA is very important for the protection of patients’ private health information. I feel that if I would find out that my private health records had been breached in a local health care facility, I would be very concerned and upset. It’s expected by patients that the utmost care and discretion will be given to secure and protect their private information. I actually have been alerted of a cyberattack on the IT system of my health plan that was maintained through Anthem. They thought that the information that may have been accessed were names, birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, emails, and income data. It was not believed that the infiltrators had gained access to personal credit card or banking information or medical

Ten years ago after much challenges and questionable skepticism, the HIPAA policy became effective and has been shaping healthcare one regulatory policy at a time. The evolution of the HIPAA privacy act helped establish the HIPAA Security Rule which was published in 2003 and became effective in 2005, and then eventually led to the HIPAA Enforcement Rules and the Breach Notification Rule. With it joint fortification of the 2009 HITECH Act and HIPAA’s modifications to regulations, it was released in January 2013 to the industry (American Health Information Management Association, 2013).

HIPAA also known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was passed by congress and signed by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1966. HIPAA includes several provisions and is the United States legislation that protects the privacy and security of patients’ medical health information and records. This Act contains five different sections that addressed different aspects of healthcare. Section one protects individuals’ healthcare coverage that have lost or changed jobs, as well as prohibiting discrimination due to pre-existing conditions. Section two was anticipated to combat fraud, waste and abuse by establishing national standards that remained in compliance with privacy regulations. Section three includes making sure that the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) provides tax

"HIPAA doesn?t necessarily prescribe the solutions, but it does require physicians to look at all of the ways that they use and access data today and determine whether that?s reasonable or not." to help you begin your HIPAA compliance process, following are some practical ideas for rethinking how you maintain and use patient information in your office. Appoint one or two staff members (depending on the size of your office) to review the HIPAA act, determine the changes your practice needs to make, and decide if you?ll need outside help. To keep this project manageable, do not wait until the last minute. Remember: most of the healthcare industry will have to be HIPAA compliant by April 14, 2003. Furthermore, compliance is not optional. Those found in violation of the act will be penalized: "Civil penalties range up to $25,000 per violation of each standard. Criminal penalties range up to $250,000 in fines and/or up to 10 years in prison."3

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.