HIPAA was created in 1996 in order for Covered Entities (Health plan, health care clearing houses and health care provider) to protect and secure a person’s private health information (PHI). Its main focus is to eradicate worker discrimination due pre-existing conditions. Nonetheless, HIPAA concentrated on the implementation of a distributed electronic system to improve administrative transactions among covered entities. However, early stages of HIPAA provisions left many gaps opened. As an example: HIPPA did not specify how information should be protected; what methods, rules or standard needed to be enforced.…
HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules benefit and support the integrity of the healthcare industry, patient, and physician by setting a standard on how the healthcare industry protects patient information when the files are stored and transferred electronically. This is the Security Rule. This rule sets technical and non-technical safeguards called “covered entities”. ("Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule | HHS.gov," n.d.) when the office stays within the standards and complies with the regulations then the integrity of maintaining privacy stays intact.…
1. Describe the term HIPAA. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which is simply known as HIPPA was put into play in 1996 for health care fields and facilities. This act allows patients personal healthcare information to be protected from being used or shared with anyone unless the patient writes a hand consent saying otherwise. Each patient’s healthcare information is kept in medical records, billing records, and health insurance computer systems.…
To prevent a HIPAA violation when disposing of PHI, the healthcare facility must have a written policy documenting the proper procedure to follow when disposing PHI, and schedulers must be trained on HIPAA rules and regulations on an annual basis. Additionally, many offices keep separate containers for collecting and shredding PHI. In a recent settlement, Cornell Pharmacy in Denver, Colorado agreed to pay $125,000 to settle potential HIPAA violations after a local news reporter found patient information in an unsecured container (DHHS, 2015). According to the DHHS (2015), Cornell was cited for failing to safeguard PHI, failing to implement written policies and procedures, and failing to train the workforce on the Privacy Rule.…
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) passed in 1996 to help set a national standard to protect certain patient health information (Gartee, 2011). The major goal of HIPAA is to ensure a patient’s Health Information (PHI) is utilized by the correct individuals at the correct time to perform a certain job. In addition, HIPPA sets the standards by which PHI can be shared with covered entities and family; plus allowing the patient to receive notice on how their PHI will be utilized. In addition, HIPPA is a complete and comprehensive guide to protect the public’s health and well being while striking a balance that permits important uses of PHI to share information (“Summary” n.d.). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act includes three categories of security safeguards and how covered entities will communicate PHI.…
Under HIPAA, you are not legally allowed to view patient`s medical information without their consent, and unless you are their doctor or healthcare staffs. It is in violation of the patient’s personal information and also is against the law because you are not a doctor or healthcare staffs to retrieve a patient record. HIPAA only allows physicians and healthcare staffs who are involved in the patient care to freely view the medical information that would be needed in relation to the treatment, payment, and care-related management of the patient. The physicians and the healthcare staffs would need the medical information in making care and management plans and decisions throughout the management of the patient. If the patient medical information…
After doing some research on articles of HIPAA violations I found a few stories that caught my attention. The first story is about An Alabama woman that has been charged with violation of the HIPAA privacy rule for stealing paper surgery schedules about 4,500 patients from Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham. She was then using the names of these patients as well as their date of birth and social security numbers to commit identity theft. By Law this is HIPAA violation of privacy the lady should have not been going through any of the patient’s records without a valid reason. The second story I found very interesting was about a man named Huping Zhou 47 years old from Los Angeles.…
Healthcare is an important organization that is a private sector which is an essential part to preventing one’s personal files from social access of being exposed. In the recent 2000’s, the HIPAA law has been developed and created in order to prevent legally any health organizations from leaking or giving out any information to persons or individuals without a patient’s consent. All healthcare organizations are legally obligated to have all patients to fill out a HIPAA form and store it in their charts. One can prove that their information was violated based on if their spouse or employer was given information regarding their records without consent. A formal consent or document should be filled out stated that their spouse or employer is not…
HIPAA in the Nursing Field Privacy is a term that applies to all people, it is a right entitled to everyone. In this modern world with smart phones and social media, it can be a challenge to recognize the boundary lines of privacy when taking care of critically ill patients. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was passed by Congress in 1996 to define the rules and regulations concerning multiple topics, one of which is called the Privacy Rule (Mcgowan pg. 61). This rule established national standards to protect patients’ personal health information and medical records. Since that time there has been advancements in technology and now there are things like electronic health records, electronic Pyxis, and online databases…
Primitively known as the Kennedy-Kassebaum Bill, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is a set of regulations that became law in 1996: enacted by the United State Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. “HIPAA is a set of health care regulations with a two-pronged purpose: help patients’ health insurance move with them, and streamline the transfer of medical records from one health care institution to another; create standard for managing medical records to protect and enforce patients’ right to have their medical records and personal health information (PHI) kept private” (Lauren Hilinski, 2017). In his article titled “HIPAA’s History and Violations: Why HIPAA Was Created”, Lauren highlights the rationale…
conflicted with certain practices in health care settings; for instance, third party businesses needing access to personal medical records for the purposes of treatment, payment, and operations (Solove, 2013). Another unintended issue that HIPAA’s implementation stirred was the belief that it would bankrupt the industry. Investment in new health information security systems were deemed by government officials along with health care providers as a costly endeavor, and with the stipulation of financial penalties as a consequence for not obtaining such technology, this would ultimately lead to the bankruptcy of the U.S. health care industry (Solove, 2013). An additional unintended outcome of the implementation of HIPAA, was the denial of access of PHI for consumers. Before the modification of the privacy rule, there were instances of patients, caregivers, and others being denied access to their PHI to the justification of abiding by privacy rules (Solove, 2014).…
The HIPAA Act which stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and acted in 1996. HIPAA laws created a new national standard in protecting people’s health information. Whenever some body visits nowadays the hospital has a little page that you sign letting them know that you acknowledge that the physician office has notify you about their compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability laws. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability laws were put into place in protect people from things like identity thief, being denied health care, and or health insurance coverage.…
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, also known as the HITECH Act was signed into law on February 17, 2009. It was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as ARRA. This Act was passed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (HHS, par 1) and to add changes to HIPAAs original provisions. The HITECH Act significantly modifies the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA.…
HIPAA is a very important act, these rules protect you, your physician, nurse, practice, family, bosses, etc. The privacy of your personal information is very important and anyone who reviles any of your information without your approval they will have committed a violation and there will be penalties for them to face. “Health information means any information, whether oral or recorded in any form or medium that is received by any healthcare provider, school, employer. Any past, present or future medical issues with a person.” (9)…
HIPAA mandates certain privacy and security protections to encourage the realization of administrative efficiencies through healthcare information technologies (Withrow, 2010). The HIPAA Privacy has been controversial but Health and Human Services (HHS) has continued to clarify the complicated privacy rule through the…