The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act

Most people have a basic understanding about HIPAA and what it entails, but for future healthcare leaders, it is a critical issue. The goals behind the HIPAA privacy rules are very beneficial for keeping individual’s health information private, but it does place a heavy burden on organizations to ensure the information remains protected. Healthcare leaders have always had to adapt to change, but it is becoming increasingly necessary to have leaders that can adapt quicker than ever. Not only do they need to keep up with the technological advances in healthcare, but they also need to become compliant with the new and ever-changing healthcare laws. Numerous modifications have been implemented under HIPAA in the

and patients. Also, it will give recommendations on how to improve the implementation of this

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) is United States legislation that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information. In 2013, the HIPAA Omnibus Rule was put in place by HHS to implement modifications to HIPAA in accordance with guidelines set in 2009 by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act concerning the responsibilities of business associates of covered entities. The omnibus rule also increased penalties for HIPAA compliance violations to a maximum of $1.5 million per incident. HIPAA violations can prove quite costly for healthcare organizations. First, the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule within the omnibus set of regulations requires

The practice violates Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule and the recent update to the HIPAA privacy rule or the HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule. The Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal statute governing the protection of patient information, was enacted into law in 1996. The essential objective of the law is to make it easier for people, business to keep health insurance, protect the confidentiality and security of healthcare information and help the healthcare industry control administrative costs. The Privacy Rule addresses appropriate disclosure of PHI while the Security Rule addresses electronic disclosures.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was When it comes to protecting health information the law is very clear. Covered entities are required to follow the rules put in place by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA. To protect the privacy and security of patient information, healthcare organization must first address the potential threats and implement policies to keep patient information from being released to unauthorized individuals. HIPAA has set forth guidelines for covered entities to implement to protect health information. When these rules are not implemented and violations occur, healthcare organizations are penalized. These penalties can range from fines to criminal

As a measure to ensure the security and confidentiality of personal data, and more specifically PHI, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was enacted on August 21, 1996. “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires a system of health care information exchanges by computers and through computer clearinghouses and data networks by February 1998. HIPAA also requires that Congress enact privacy protection by August of 1999 or that the secretary of health and human services promulgate regulations” (Bass, Berry and Sims).

In 1996, a set of federal regulations known as HIPPA was established. HIPPA provided comprehensive protection and guidance regarding how patient information can be used, stored, disclosed and maintained by healthcare providers (Alexander et al., 2018). The HIPPA law addressed the privacy and security of personal health information, continuation of health insurance coverage for employed people, and reduction in Medicare fraud and abuse (Alexander et al., 2018). The segment of HIPAA receiving the most public attention was the privacy and security regulations section. The Department of Health and Human Services developed privacy rules focusing on the protection of patient health information communicated in any manner: verbal, paper, visual, or

HIPAA and Information Management is a set of guidelines that have been established by the Federal government to protect the privacy and security of health information. The government passed the HIPPA legislation to accomplish the following: (a) expedite quality health care, (b) increase control over and access of medical records, and (c) decrease administrative cost of healthcare providers (Artnak, & Benson, 2005). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the federal agency that has been mandated to develop guidelines, and procedures. The government published the HIPPA privacy rules and the HIPPA security rules (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2008). HIPPA laws are designed to (a) protect the person’s medical records, (b) protect personal information, (c) provide protection to medical professionals, and (d) offer the capability to incorporate new technology to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care (HHS, n.d.a).

The Health Insurance Portability and Administration Act (HIPAA) is legislation that was signed into law by former president Bill Clinton on 21 Aug, 1996. This legislation was introduced 18 Mar. 1996 by Bill Archer, TX (R) (Health Insurance). The purpose of this legislation was aimed at improving the portability and continual health care insurance coverage of American citizens and reduce the overall waste in medical spending. Not only did it provide the ability to keep ones’ health insurance it also provided protection of patient’s personal health information (PHI), but also provided provisions to simplify billing, expedite the migration to electronic medical records (EMR), and processes for individuals to make complaints and that the complaints be documented along with their disposition (Columbiana County). The HIPAA privacy rules, and its provisions, can be specifically located within 45 CFR 164, Under the provisions of HIPAA, specific information, known as PHI is protected from the unauthorized disclosure of any demographic information that relates to:

Release of Information in healthcare is critical to the quality of continuing the care provided to patients. It plays an important role in billing, reporting, research and other functions. The HIPAA privacy rule has specific rules for the management of health information to ensure confidentiality of each individual. The rule will balance the need for prompt and informed delivery of health care services with that of protecting the individual. There are no standard uniform state privacy law in use of all 50 states, yet the territories. State laws focus on for example HIV generic information as well as a degree of strictness or protectiveness of patient privacy. Some states need that additional patient authorization be obtained prior to release, but some states do not. The law required that healthcare organizations develop, implement and maintain policies, processes and procedures around release of information. Overall management of those HIM processes that shows the fundamental to confidentiality, security and compliance in releasing protected health information. It is important that the organization 's policies and procedures include the management practices that support the process of disclosure and it 's oversight.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is divided into five titles. Title I is health insurance portability, title II is administrative simplification, title III is medical savings accounts and health insurance tax related provisions, title IV is enforcement of group health plan provisions, and title V is revenue offsets. HIPAA affects many features of health care, including providing the privacy rights of patients for release of financial and medical information without written consent. No information can be sent to employers, medical institutions, or financial institutions. The patient must also state who can receive their medical information. This will paper discuss and conclude the HIPAA privacy rule.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) defines a patient’s rights regarding his or her expectation of privacy and confidentiality when seeking medical treatment. Patients have the right to decide who should have access to their information. Maintaining patient confidentiality and privacy is part of the code of ethics that all members of the healthcare system must uphold. As an insurance billing specialist it is our ethical and legal obligation to follow all HIPAA guidelines to make sure the patient’s information, both medical and personal, is protected at all times. Violating a patient’s confidentiality can have serious civil and criminal penalties.

Release or not to release is the question in today’s healthcare? Being a patient, and going to a doctor’s appointment has really changed versus how it was years ago. Most of us as patients know that we have a right to our own health information, but how is this beneficial to us as patients and healthcare providers? As healthcare is increasingly becoming complex what are ways to enforce these policies and rules? HIPAA rules and standards will need to be the same in each state so there is interoperability the proper way, but will we be able to really accomplish this? This paper will discuss these aspects and ways to overcome these obstacles that are occurring.

This journal entry is a reflection of research on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). Enacted by Congress in 1996, HIPPA was created to “modernize health information exchange” (Solove, 2013). For the consumer, HIPPA sets rules which protect the privacy of health information, to be followed by health care providers and insurance companies. It also gives consumers rights over their health information, such as obtaining a copy, making sure it is accurate, and to know who is or has seen their health information (Office for Civil Rights, n.d.). The modernization of health information exchange, came out of a concern as technology advanced, and computer data bases were now collecting personal health information.

The HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules mandate that healthcare providers and organizations and their respective business associates abide by HIPAA rules when they create and follow procedures that must be transmitted, obtained, handled, or shared. In addition, during these processes, the confidentiality and security of all protected health information (PHI) must be achieved and maintained (Hernandez, 2015). Moreover, there are instances when PHI can and cannot be disclosed. Stanford (n.d) differentiates between information that is “shared” and “disclosed.” Shared applies to PHI utilized within the covered entity; whereas, “disclosed” pertains to PHI shared outside of the covered entity (Stanford,