Introduction With the advancement of technology and the ever increasing use of social media, our lives our displayed for the world to see. With more and more sites asking us for information, such as name, gender, age, location, and more, our privacy is diminishing. One of the few things most private to some is their health information. Our confidential health and medical information is very personal, and in the wrong hands it can be used to commit fraud. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Understanding) was created to help combat and defend us from fraud. The healthcare industry is one of the many that generates billions of dollars in revenue each year, and information can be used to commit acts of felony. The …show more content…
Privacy became an important issue as patients realized the amount of information hospitals and health providers stored. With the electronic means of transfer and storage slowly overtaking traditional paper and file, trust in this new technology was not easy to come by. HIPAA was passed in 1996, a time when computers and electronic storage was not considered the norm. It is important to keep in mind just how far technological advances have come in these past two decades, and the presence it has today in nearly every …show more content…
This policy goes in line with Archie B. Carroll’s philosophy on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has defined CSR as “the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society at large” (WBCSD). Improving the quality of life is something all policies should strive for, and HIPAA was successful in doing so. The Department of Health and Human Services generated a report, estimating just how many lives would be changed for the better through HIPAA. The Health Insurance Association of America was quoted in the report, saying that HIPAA would “lead to about 1.6 million new individuals to purchase individual insurance each year” and this would also “lead to an increase of 28 percent in the number of covered lives in the individual market” (Hong, S). Every year millions of Americans will be able to enjoy the luxury of health insurance, and the numbers keep growing. This is a major impact on society and the well-being of American
The knowledge about the HIPAA Privacy and Security rules; its coverage and benefits; its development and updates will help an individual to understand the law to effectively manage and protect his or her own personal health record. The advent of computer technology and the HIPAA terms that were associated with information system will be discussed. Some of the experiences with HIPAA will shared to give a better picture and understanding of the law.
Introduction The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, is a law designed “to improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets, to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery, to promote the use of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long-term care services and coverage, to simplify the administration of health insurance, and for other purposes. ”1 HIPAA mandates that covered entities must employ technological means to ensure the privacy of sensitive information. This white paper intends to study the requirements put forth by HIPAA by examining what is technically necessary for them to be implemented, the technological feasibility of this, and what commercial, off-the-shelf systems are currently available to implement these requirements. HIPAA Overview On July 21, 1996, Bill Clinton signed HIPAA into law.
. 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 not related to health care, the requirements regarding written privacy policies for covered entities, the training requirements for medical office employees and the consequences for not following the policy.
US Congress created the HIPAA bill in 1996 because of public concern about 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 health care 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 health care 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 patient’s 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 Rule protects individual’s health information and requires medical providers to get consent for the release of any medical information and explain how private health records are protected. It also allows patients to receive their medical records from any...
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, most commonly known by its initials HIPAA, was enacted by Congress then signed by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996. This act was put into place in order to regulate the privacy of patient health information, and as an effort to lower the cost of health care, shape the many pieces of our complicated healthcare system. This act also protects individuals from losing their health insurance if they lose their employment or choose to switch employers. . Before HIPAA there was no standard or consistency for the enforcement of the privacy for patients and the rules and regulations varied by state and organizations. HIPAA virtually affects everybody within the healthcare field including but not limited to patients, providers, payers and intermediaries. Although there are many parts of the HIPAA act, for the purposes of this paper we are going to focus on the two main sections and the four objectives of HIPAA, a which are to improve the portability (the capability of transferring from one employee to another) of health insurance, combat fraud, abuse, and waste in health insurance, to promote the expanded use of medical savings accounts, and to simplify the administration of health insurance.
With today's use of electronic medical records software, information discussed in confidence with your doctor(s) will be recorded into electronic data files. The obvious concern is the potential for your records to be seen by hundreds of strangers who work in health care, the insurance industry, and a host of businesses associated with medical organizations. Fortunately, this catastrophic scenario will likely be avoided. Congress addressed growing public concern about privacy and security of personal health data, and in 1996 passed “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” (HIPAA). HIPAA sets the national standard for electronic transfers of health data.
Some of the things that HIPAA does for a patient are it gives patients more control over their health information. It sets boundaries on the use and release of health records. It establishes appropriate guidelines that health care providers and others must do to protect the privacy of the patients’ health information. It holds violators accountable, in court that can be imposed if they violate patients’ privacy rights by HIPAA. Overall HIPAA makes it to where the health information can’t b...
In conclusion, technology has changed the world, as we knew it. Positive and negative come with change. The goal of the ACA, HIPPA, and EHRs is achieve positive patient outcomes, while protecting the integrity, trust and confidentiality, and decreasing health care cost. Privacy is a fundamental right of a patient, and nurses are expected to maintain confidentiality (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014). A breach in confidentiality will result in lack of trust between nurse and patients. As a nurse, it is my responsibility to ensure my patients privacy, and to provide nursing care that is patient centered, not technology centered.
Privacy concerns medical healthcare professionals and patients themselves have a lot of concerns on people finding out their information by breaking into the computers. “According to the HHS, in 2012, about 125 large breaches affected about 2.2 million people. Most health data breaches result from stolen computers, but hackers caused the largest breach last year, stealing 780,000 patients’ information. (http://www.justice.org)”.
According to the report provided by the consultant, the employees at this facility were not taking precautions in safeguarding the patient’s health information. Therefore, the employees at this facility were in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). It is important for employees to understand the form of technology being used and the precautions they must take to safeguard patient information.
Health systems are responsible for notifying patients of their privacy practices, as well as ensuring that the proper safeguards have been put into place to minimize the unauthorized access or disclosure of patient information; Health systems are also required to provide adequate training to all employees regarding HIPAA regulations as well as ensure that any business associates have contractual agreements regarding the use of and disclosure of patient health
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA), Confidential Information and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA), and the Freedom of Information Act all provide legal protection under many laws. It also involves ethical protection. The patient must be able to completely trust the healthcare provider by having confidence that their information is kept safe and not disclosed without their consent. Disclosing any information to the public could be humiliating for them. Patient information that is protected includes all medical and personal information related to their medical records, medical treatments, payment records, date of birth, gender, and
As society has progressed, there have been many new innovative and unbelievable developments in almost all aspects of life that have ultimately created an impact. More specifically, advancements in technology have rather had a much larger and intense impact on society as it continues to grow. Technology has allowed for many great and useful applications that has made life much easier and convenient. However, many aspects of technology have given a rise to a number of social and ethical issues, causing numerous debates and concerns. One of the more prominent concerns deals with the issue of privacy rights.
Individual privacy and confidentiality play a role in both research and clinical health care settings. In each instance, standards and expectations put in place by researchers and health care practitioners to follow to protect patients and research participants while interacting with them. The evolving health care system and convergence of research and treatment protocols to create learning health care systems (LHCS) are creating the need to look at patient confidentiality and privacy differently to protect them and their information.
The right to privacy is our right to keep a domain around us, which includes all those things that are apart of us, such as our body, home, property, thoughts, feelings, secrets and identity. The right to privacy gives us the ability to choose which parts in this domain can be accessed by others, and to control the extent, manner and timing of the use of those parts we choose to disclose (Privacy Concerns 1). “Everyone has the right for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right…” (Privacy concerns 2). In 1998, the Human Rights Act, the act sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals have, came into force; it incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 8 which protects the right to private and family life. Was the first time there was a generalized right to privacy recognized by law in this country.