Summary of HIPAA This paper will examine the privacy rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 . 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. Patient Rights The first area of concern in HIPAA is the protection of the private health care information for patients. In protecting the rights of patients, however, HIPAA policies require a certain level of diligence on the part of the patients. Every patient has the right to view and get a copy of their medical records and other health information (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). There are a few conditions under which a covered entity can decide not to provide the information to a patient, such as if they believe that providing the information would endanger the patient or someone else. However, in general, records will be provided to a patient within 30 days of the request. This can be extended for an additional 30 days if the patient is given a reason. Patie... ... middle of paper ... ... Health Information Privacy For Consumers. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from U. S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Understanding HIPAA. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/ University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. (2005, May 11). Workforce Privacy Training (HIPAA). Retrieved April 22, 2009, from Privacy/Data Protection Project: http://privacy.med.miami.edu/glossary/xd_workforce_training.htm WikiAnswers. (n.d.). What is required if an employee doesn't follow the HIPAA Policy? Retrieved April 23, 2009, from WikiAnswers.com: http://www.wikianswers.com/Q/What_is_required_if_an_employee_doesn't_follow_the_HIPAA_privacy_policy
Sobel, R. (2007). The HIPAA Paradox. The Privacy Rule that’s Not. Hasting Center Report, 37(4), 40-50.
Since the formed President Bill Clinton signed HIPAA policy in to law, it has been a driving for the healthcare facilities though out the United State. This law has been shaping the healthcare facilities better conditions. HIPAA policy has causes the healthcare facilities to have document in place when a patient is admitted to the hospital seeing physician at clinic or all confidentiality document must be sign up on a admitted. When these documents signed, the patient and the others person who authorized to view any of the documents, for example: Medical records of the patient medication, diseases, tests results, etc.
Overall these sources proved to provide a great deal of information to this nurse. All sources pertained to HIPAA standards and regulations. This nurse sought out an article from when HIPAA was first passed to evaluate the timeline prospectively. While addressing the implications of patient privacy, these articles relate many current situations nurses and physicians encounter daily. These resources also discussed possible violations and methods to prevent by using an informaticist and information technology.
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.
“The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 made it illegal to gain access to personal medical information for any reasons other than health care delivery, operations, and reimbursements” (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 166). “HIPAA legislation mandated strict controls on the transfer of personally identifiable health data between two entities, provisions for disclosure of protected information, and criminal penalties for violation” (Clayton 2001). “HIPAA also has privacy requirements that govern disclosure of patient protected health information (PHI) placed in the medical record by physicians, nurses, and other health care providers” (Buck, 2011). Always remember conversations about a patient’s health care or treatment is a violation of HIPAA. “All PHI is included in the privacy requirements for example: the patient’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; the provision of health care to the individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe it can be used to identify the individual” (Buck, 2011). Other identifiable health information would be the patient’s name, address, birth date and Social Security Number (Keomouangchanh, 2011). (Word count 197)
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 Enforcement of Group Health Plan Requirements; Title V – Revenue Offsets; Title XI – General Provisions, Peer Review, Administrative Simplification; Title XXVII – Assuring Portability, Availability and Renewability of Health Insurance Coverage. (Krager & Krager, 2008)
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.
United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (2014). About the law. Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/
HIPAA is there to help protected all the patients information no matter if is written down, oral and or an electronic record (Stember, 2005). There are more than one HIPAA rules that protect all aspects of the PHI. Some of those rules let the patient take hold of their healthcare. This lets the patient have more control over their health records. HIPAA lets the patient get their records when they want to view them. But they can’t get and medical records that are involved in a criminal or proceeding of any kind, and do not have the right to psychotherapy notes (Green, 2017).
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act passed and were signed into law on August 21, 1996. It affects the medical facility and its day to day operations; in many different ways. HIPAA sets higher standard of operation for healthcare workers and the facilities. "HIPAA was instituted to "improve the portability and continuity of health insurance coverage; to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and healthcare 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 to serve other purposes" (Kinn’s, 2011).
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...
There are different things that have to be kept secret, and no one can say a word about it to anyone. Different Aacts were put into place to protect those rights of a patient or anyone who does not want information to get out. HIPAA is an act that deals with health insurance and accountability. There are consequences of what goes on or if the patient told someone, and once past a certain age no one can be with the child. Privacy is the most important thing that a person has that can not be taken, and confidentiality is something a person has knowing that information is safe.
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.
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.
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