The importance of patient confidentiality!

1. Shakeelah Chambers
MHA:690

2. According to the American Medical
Association, “AMA's Code of Medical Ethics states
that the information disclosed to a physician
during the course of the patient-physician
relationship is confidential to the utmost degree.”

3. A breach of confidentiality is a disclosure to a third
party, without patient consent or court order, of
private information that the physician has learned
within the patient-physician relationship.
Disclosure can be:
Oral, written, telephone, fax, etc

4.  HIPPA is the acronym for : The Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
 HIPPA was passed by congress in 1996

5.  Reduces healthcare fraud and abuse
 Mandates industry-wide standards for health
care information on electronic billing and other
processes
 Requires the protection and confidential
handling of protected health information

6.  The HIPAA Privacy regulations require health
care providers and organizations, as well as
their business associates, develop and follow
procedures that ensure the confidentiality and
security of protected health information (PHI)
when it is transferred, received, handled, or
shared. This applies to all forms of
PHI, including paper, oral, and
electronic, etc. Furthermore, only the
minimum health information necessary to
conduct business is to be used or shared.

7. VIOLATION TYPE
EACH VIOLATION
VIOLATIONS OF AN
IDENTICAL
PROVISION IN A
CALENDAR YEAR
Individual didn't know
they violated HIPAA
$100 - $50,000 $1,500,000
Reasonable cause and
not willful neglect
$1,000 - $50,000 $1,500,000
Willful neglect but
corrected within time
$10,000 - $50,000 $1,500,000
Willful neglect and is not
corrected
$50,000 $1,500,000

8.  American Medical Association. “Patient Confidentiality.”
Retrieved from: http://www.ama-
assn.org//ama/pub/physician-resources/legal-topics/patient-
physician-relationship-topics/patient-confidentiality.page
 HHS. “Health Information Privacy” Retrieved from :
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/index.html