The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act Essay

The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act Essay
In the medical field or any other professions, privacy is paramount. One of the most important
things is confidentiality. In this case, patients should be able to trust that they treating physicians
will not disclose their personal information to other parties without their consent. The question then
becomes: Under what circumstances is it alright for physicians to disclose private medical
information to third party without informed consent? Did Dr. Shapiro have the right to disclose Mr.
Lovington's private medical information to his wife Anna, who is also his patient? Nationally, the
Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) was created to ensure that patient data
remained as confidential as it possibly could. The Privacy Rule Act highlights the use and disclosure
of confidential patient information. The biggest achievement of this Privacy Rule is that it not only
allows for patient data to remain confidential, but it also ensures that there is a proper flow of
information that is required to care for the patient adequately. Under the 2016 Florida Statutes,
section 456.057 of Florida Statutes defines a record owner as any health care practitioner who, upon
conducting a physical or mental examination, creates a record of the results. It is important to
understand just who a records owner is so that the person who may be held liable in case of a
disclosure of information is known. A records owner id also said to include a person to whom
patient's medical
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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Essay
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, otherwise known as HIPAA, was endorsed
by the U.S. Congress in 1996. The HIPAA Privacy Rule, also called the Standards for Privacy of
Individually Identifiable Health Information, provided the first nationally recognizable regulations
for the use or disclosure of an individual's health information. The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes
national standards to protect individuals' medical records and other personal health information and
applies to health plans, health care clearinghouse, and those health care providers that conduct
certain health care transactions electronically. (OCR 2003) 1 When discussing the question, does
HIPAA affect the patients access to his or her medical ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
*check the HHS page 2 The HIPAAAmendment states that, "The Rule gives individuals the right to
have covered entities amend their protected health information in a designated record set when that
information is inaccurate or incomplete" ( HIPAA pg.12–13) When it comes to personal health
information, HIPAA and AMA already set the policy how to covered entities to protect personal
health information. However, the Privacy Rule is to define and limit the circumstances in which an
individual's protected heath information may be used or disclosed by covered entities. These
circumstances are: 1. Required by law; 2. Public Health Activities; 3. Victims of Abuse, Neglect or
Domestic Violence; 4. Health Oversight Activities; 5. Judicial and Administrative Proceedings; 6.
Law Enforcement Purposes; 7. Decedents; 8. Cadaveric Organ, Eye, or Tissue Donation; 9.
Research; 10. Serious Threat to Health or Safety; 11. Essential Government Functions; 12. Workers
Compensation. (Pg.6 (5) Public Interest and Benefit Activitie) 3 On the other hand when discussing
the question, are there requirements for covered entities to have written privacy policies? According
to HIPAA Privacy Rule. "The notice must describe the ways in which the covered entity may use
and disclose protected health information. The notice must state the covered entity's duties to protect
privacy, provide a notice of privacy practices, and

The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Of...
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was legislation enacted with a dual
purpose: to assure the insurability of more Americans, and protect them from demographics and
medical treatment information being accessible to too many individuals and entities, specifically
those who do not have necessity to know.
The Insurance Portability portion essentially reduced the impact pre–existing conditions have on
obtaining health insurance. The law drastically limits when an insurance plan can allow denial of
services for pre–existing conditions, and in most cases, such as when a person is able to secure
continuous medical coverage, obliterates it. For instance, if a worker is laid off from his job, but
continues to purchase ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
There are several parts that make up the privacy portion of HIPAA, all of which are enforced by the
Office of Civil Rights. There is the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which outlines the steps organizations
should take to protect the medical records and health information of patients; the HIPAA Security
Rule, protecting electronic medical records; the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, which mandates
that certain healthcare organizations and businesses report breaches of personal health information;
and the privacy portion of the Patient Safety Rule, which disallows identifiers of specific patients in
reviewing safety and clinical quality events (Health Information Privacy, n.d.).
The privacy portion of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a
substantial portion of the law that has indeed gained the most attention and had the widest impacts –
more so even than the insurance portability portion. The rules that make up the privacy piece of the
law are intended to protect patients from having information about their medical history and medical
care released to anyone that doesn't have a right to know. The Security Rule supports the Privacy
Rule in how it affects technological advances in healthcare – specifically, electronic medical
records: Electronic Medical Records or Electronic Health Records (EMR's or EHR's, respectively).
The Breach Notification Rule supports patients' privacy not only by mandating reporting to

The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act
In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed. According to
Judson, Harrison "Law & Ethics for Medical Careers." The purpose of HIPAA was to, " protect
privacy and other health care rights for patients," according to Judson, Harrison " Law & Ethics for
Medical Careers." HIPAA does affect a patient 's right to access his or her medical records, as well
as determine who can see their information. According to HHS.gov, "Only you or your personal
representative has the right to access your records." This corresponds very well with the Privacy
Rule established in 1974, which was designed to forbid any health information to be used for any
other reason than the initial one. However, HIPAA does not allow a ... Show more content on
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With a written complaint, you must mail or fax. Also you have the option to email as well.
According to HHS.gov, your complaint "must be filed within 180 days of when you knew that the
act or omission complained of occurred." Once your complaint has been received, it will be
determined to see if all the information can be used to support a claim and an investigation will
begin. HIPAA has covered entities which are people, businesses or agencies that must comply with
the HIPAA standards and privacy rules. A covered entity must follow specific steps and procedures
to notify patients when there has been a breach of unsecured protected health information. A breach
notice liability varies on the amount of people the breach affects. It 's base amount of people is 500.
According to HHS.gov," If a breach of unsecured protected health information affects 500 or more
individuals, a covered entity must notify the Secretary of the breach without unreasonable delay and
in no case later than 60 calendar days from the discovery of the breach." This means the breach must
be reported almost immediately following the case. If the breach is lower than 500 people, the
covered entity is required to notify the Secretary of the breach within 60 days of the case. Covered
entities are also required to complete separate notices per incident. The way to submit your notice is
online according to HHS.gov. Once submitting a complaint there will always be a follow–up
investigation regarding

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of...
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) affects every aspect of
health care from patient privacy to insurance coverage. The federal act was first passed in 1996, yet
the first major rule did not go into effect until 2003, protecting patient privacy. HIPAA ultimately
came into effect due to the issues regarding patient privacy, security and coverage. Another major
concern for both health care workers and the public was the exchange of patient information from
one facility to another. Until the relatively recent decision to enforce HIPAA, a patient's medical
record was primarily recorded and maintained on paper and stored in locked cabinets or drawers.
Not only was this method inefficient, but patients ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
They have a choice to be able to access and view all their records and obtain their medical records.
A patient also has the right to amend their protected health information. They must submit the
change into writing and the form is available online. The fourth right states that a patient has the
right to see a list of who their records have been disclosed to. Records can be sent to many different
offices, including other doctors and different insurance companies. A patient has the right to ask that
their protected health information may be communicated in a special way. For example, a patient
can request that health related messages not be left on their voicemail or answering machine. The
last right is that a patient has the right to complain if their rights have been violated. They are able to
go online and submit a claim that states how their rights have been violated. In efforts to strengthen
HIPAA compliance, audits are being performed more frequently (Solove, 2013). In order to improve
compliance among healthcare–related facilities and companies, it is suggested that they adhere to
risk assessments, continue security incident planning, enhance employee training, and continue
updating security and privacy policies and procedures (Solove, 2013). It was reported in 2013 that
52% of patient information breaches were due to data theft, with this increasing number of privacy
incidents compliance must continue to be

Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act
Purpose Statement
The creation go of the Internet has helped spawn new forms of criminals and crimes, and has always
helped make older criminal schemes easier to execute, identity theft, child pornography, copyright
violations, hacking and you could go on and on. In a 2003 survey conducted by the CSI with the
participation of the San Francisco Federal Bureau of Investigation's Computer Intrusion Squad, of
the 530 respondents made up of U.S. corporations, government agencies, financial institutions,
medical institutions and universities, 56% reported unauthorized use of their computer systems
(2003 CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey).
Laws have always and will always be behind criminal acts, and new laws are put in place to tackle
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
(http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/srsummary.html)
The health industry has become the most attractive targets for cyber criminals, because of the large
volumes of protected health, personals, and financial data that are retained. Therefore, it is no
surprise that they have become such a popular target among cyber criminal organizations.
Cybercriminals utilizes various methods to obtain the information they are seeking from both
medical insurance and health industry corporations.
These methods include:
Insider threats stealing patient records and other sensitive information while working for a company
that maintains these types of records.
Using old criminal tactics such as bribing or threatening physical harm to employee with access to
records.
Hackers breaking into record data bases, utilizing malware to steal email, dumpster diving, and
skimming data from various storage devices.
Social engineering techniques, such as posing as a legitimate employee, or business to request
certain data.
The greatest threat to the health industry when it comes to loss of patient data is the insider threat, a
current or former employee who has access to sensitive information, and a reason to utilize this
privileged access for criminal intent. In April 2002, Christopher Scott Sandusky pled guilty to

The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Essay
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, most commonly known as HIPAA, was
passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996. The purpose of this
act was to regulate the privacy of patient health information, lower the cost of health care, as well as
to help fix the many pieces of our complicated healthcare system. When switching employers or
possibly losing employment, HIPAA secures individuals their health insurance. HIPAA nearly
affects all individuals within the healthcare field including but not limited to patients, providers,
insurance companies and third parties. There are many parts to the HIPAA act to explain, however
for the purposes of this paper, the primary focus will be on the main purpose of HIPAA. HIPAAS's
two most important titles, a brief summary of the remaining three titles, along with an overview of
how HIPAA works with today's newer technology in the medical field. The main two purposes of
HIPAA includes providing continuous insurance coverage for individuals who change jobs as well
as reducing the costs and administrative burdens of receiving health care (What is HIPAA?, 2016).
HIPAA protects the privacy of a patient's personal along with the patient's health information.
HIPPA also provides electronic and physical security of personal and health information, simplifies
medical billing, and provides a process for individuals to make a documented complaint. Although
one of its main purposes is to reduce costs

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 Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare brought up the issue of "Records, Computers, and the Rights of Citizens" in
the 1973 Hew report (The Privacy Act of 1974, n.d.). They recommended Congress produce
legislation protecting medical information, and the application of principles to follow in that
process. After much debate over two separate bills, between the House and the Senate, the Privacy
Act melded the two bills together into one as a compromise, and was enacted in 1974 (The Privacy
Act of 1974, n.d.). The Privacy Act developed four procedural and substantive rights concerning
personal data. These rights require government agencies to share any individual records they kept on
someone, following fair information

HIPAA
The changing nature of the health care provision worldwide has paved way for the enactment of
laws to check this desired improvement. Human rights require that all people attain the highest
attainable or best standard of healthcare. This is a fundamental human rights accorded to every
person under all Charters of the United Nation on human rights. As people get this essential service,
it is important that other rights they have such as the right to human dignity, privacy, and protection
of persons against degrading treatment are protected.
All stakeholders in the health sector are supposed to maintain a standard of ethics below which no
one can deviate. Nonetheless, there are reported cases of health fraud and medical practice in ...
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Health care professionals are also required to uphold a standard of ethics and act with a sense of
nonmaleficence.
Ethical Issues in HIPAA
Privacy requirement
HIPAA recognizes every person's right to privacy. Lo and Dubler (2005) asserts that the healthcare
practitioners have an obligation to ensure that the medical information they obtain from their
patients remain classified unless the patient authorizes the disclosure. The Act provides detailed
rules on privacy, access, and disclosure of this vital information (Wafa, 2010). The Act requires that;
Patients must be provided with copies of their medical records and corrections made on the records
whenever the patient requests.
The right to obtain medical records extends to any person acting as an agent of a patient who lacks
capacity to make such request or obtain the records.
Health practitioners to regularly disclose their practice as regards privacy of a patient's medical
records.
The practitioners are allowed to share patients' medical information among themselves when
necessary in the spirit of professional consultation in a bid to provide better care.
Medical information may not be disclosed for marketing purposes.
All reasonable measures must be put in place to ensure doctor–patient confidentiality.
Every person has the right to file a complaint regarding privacy practices of health practitioners to
the Office

Hipa Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act
Introduction In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act,
better known as HIPAA. The purpose of HIPAA is to provide guidance and tools to protect and
secure patient's medical records. There are two sections of the act that will be today's focus – the
Privacy Rule and the Security Rule. At the end of this training, employees will understand what
HIPAA is, how it applies to [Hospital], and the penalties for violation. Objectives Recognize
covered entities and business associates Understand patient's rights Understand the HIPAA Privacy
Rule Understand the purpose of the HIPAA Security Rule Understand the impact of violation
Definitions HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ... Show more content on
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Breach – Any unauthorized access, use, acquisition, or disclosure of PHI. History In the 1990's, it
became apparent that the Consumer Protection Act was insufficient for the protection of patient's
electronic health information. For several years, plans developed, and the result was HIPAA, which
was enacted in 1996. It took until 1999 to finalize the Privacy Rule. The following year, the Security
Rule, Transactions and Code Sets Rule, and National Provider Identifier Rule were finalized. The
required compliance date for the Security Rule was 4/20/2005 to allow providers the necessary time
to put policies and procedures in place. In 2006, enforcement was enacted. It quickly became
apparent that technology was advancing beyond the scope of the Security Rule, and in 2009, the
HITECH Act was enacted to support the Security Rule. (Sayles, 2014) Privacy Rule The Privacy
Rule provides federal protection for PHI held by covered entities and awards certain rights to
patients in regards to that information. It also permits disclosure for business operations and care.
We will now take a closer look at what this rule means, starting with PHI. What is PHI? PHI are
items that can be used to identify the patient. PHI includes: Patient name Address Diagnosis Social
security number Insurance id Names of patient's relatives Patient employer Treatment dates What is
permissible? PHI may be disclosed to the patient, for treatment activities, for payment activities, or

Introduction
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.
What is HIPAA?
HIPAA also known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was passed by
congress and signed by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1966. HIPAA includes several
provisions and is the United States legislation that protects the privacy and security of patients'
medical health information and records. This Act contains five different sections that addressed
different aspects of healthcare. Section one protects individuals' healthcare coverage that have lost
or changed jobs, as well as prohibiting discrimination due to pre–existing conditions. Section two
was anticipated to combat fraud, waste and abuse by establishing national standards that remained in
compliance with privacy regulations. Section three includes making sure that the Internal Revenue
Code (IRC) provides tax

HIPAAACT Summary of the Act The Health insurance portability and accountability act or HIPAA
act was put in place in 1996. Since then rules and regulations have been added to the HIPPA act but
the main purpose of it is the same. The HIPAA act was put in place to fix issues related to
healthcare, privacy concerns, and help people keep health insurance coverage between jobs. HIPPA
is broken down into two main parts or titles; Title I: Health care access, portability and renewability
privacy rules and Title II : Preventing Health Care Fraud and Abuse, Administrative Simplification,
Medical Liability Reform. Title I is indented to help workers and family keep their health insurance
when they change or lose their job. Title I does this by stopping health insurance companies from
creating premiums or eligibly rules based on a person's health status. This includes; medical history,
genetic information, or any disability. This also covers group health care and limits the restriction
that can be placed on benefits for preexisting conditions. If someone does have a preexisting
condition then that person can't be denied health insurance because of the condition. This only
applies if the person with the preexisting condition has received health insurance for at least 18
months. Title II is indented to define rules related to health care and the penalties for breaking them.
These rules cover most of the health care process such as billing services, health plans and
transmitting

Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is the United States government's principal
agency for protecting the health of all Americans and for providing essential human services,
especially to those who are unable to help themselves. The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPPA) was developed in nineteen ninety–six and became part of the Social
Security Act (Bowers,2001). The focus of HIPPA is to protect health care coverage for individuals
who lose or change their jobs. Secondly it was designed to ensure security and confidentiality of
patient information. HIPPA regulations mandate uniform standard for electronic data transmission of
administrative and financial ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
This documentary prompted an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the
Office of Civil Rights (OCR) (CVS Pays $2.25 Million in Record HIPAA Settlement, 2015). In
2009, the HIPAA breach notification requirement was initiated, which mandated that "HIPAA
covered entities and their business associates provide notification following a breach of unsecured
protected health information (PHI)." More than thirty–two million people have had their PHI
violated and more than twenty–six million dollars in fines have been imposed. The Third largest fine
given was to CVS in January of two–thousand and nine for two point two five million dollars. The
Office of Civil Rights investigation revealed that CVS pharmacy was disposing protected health
information in dumpsters that were not secure and could be accessed by the public. The Privacy
Rule requires health plans, health care clearinghouses, and most health care providers including
pharmacies to safeguard the privacy of protected health information, including such information
during its disposal. The investigation cited that CVS failed to implement adequate policies and
procedures to reasonably safeguard health information during the disposal process. CVS failed to
train employees on how to dispose

The moment a patient's information is entered into a healthcare system, they are given patient rights;
one of those rights is the right to patient information confidentiality. This right confirms that the
patient's information will only be accessed by care providers, people who are providing
reimbursement for care, when information is ordered by the court or if the patient gives written
consent for the release of information. The patient is allowed access to view their medical records
(Confidentiality, Patients ' Rights and Responsibilities, 2014). The healthcare team can assist in
building a trusting relationship with their patients by ensuring the patients right to privacy. By
ensuring a patients right to privacy, this encourages the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
If HIPAA were inactive, a patient's health care information could be discussed freely, without any
repercussions. With HIPAA, patients can feel at ease when disclosing personal information that can
bring forth judgments, such as, having HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and other infections
or diseases that are viewed negatively by society. Under the HIPAA act, information that identifies a
person (name, social security number, birthdate and demographic information), as well as, health
information and form of payment is considered confidential (Health Information Privacy, 2003).
Failing to abide by HIPAA regulations can result in civil and criminal cases. The American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 established a tiered civil case structure for violation of
HIPAA regulations (HIPAA Violations and Enforcement, 2014). Below are the penalties for HIPAA
violations when faced with a civil case: HIPAA Violation Minimum Penalty Maximum Penalty
Person was unaware they were breaking HIPAA standards. $100 per violation with annual max of
$25,000 for repeated violations. $50,000 per violation with annual max of $1.5 million for repeated
violations. Violation was because of a reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. $1,000 per
violation with annual max of $100,000 for repeated violations. $50,000 per violation with annual
max of $1.5 million for repeated violations Violation was a result of willful neglect. Violation is
corrected within the given time period.

It has always been the job of health care providers to maintain doctor–patient confidentiality. Not
only is it a legal obligation it is also an ethical obligation to many doctors, nurses, physician's
assistants and many other medical staff. Until recently medical records were primarily recorded on
paper and stored in cabinets and locked in what was believed as a secure room. The Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act also known as HIPAA, was passed on August 21, 1996.
Although the law was passed in 1996 it did not become effective until April 14, 2003. This was due
to the fact that "Given that Congress did not act to produce these within the timeframe specified by
the law the secretary at the Department of Health and Human ... Show more content on
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These objectives were followed through with three main provisions of the Act: (1) the portability
provisions, (2) the administrative simplification provisions, and (3) tax provisions
As implied by the name, the HIPAA portability provision is intended to improve the portability of
health coverage for people who are in the process of changing jobs and also make it easier to add
family members to an employees' coverage. HIPAA portability applies not only to group health
plans but also to issuers of group health plans. So both the employer and the insurer are obligated to
comply. Part of the HIPAA portability provision is issuing a Certificate of Creditable Coverage
(COCC). The COCC must specify the date that any waiting period began as well as the dates that
coverage under the plan began and ended. Educational information has been placed on the back of
the COCC explaining HIPAA rights. COCC will be issued by certain insurance companies, such as
the Physicians Health Plan of North Indiana, Inc, if; regular coverage is lost, COBRA coverage is
lost, when a COCC is requested by a member while still active; and within two years after losing
coverage. However, after termination of coverage, if a member is moving to different health plan
that has a pre–existing condition exclusion (PCE), the timeframe revealed on the COCC can be used
to decrease the PCE period by one day for every day of creditable coverage listed on the

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Essay
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, otherwise known as HIPAA, was endorsed
by the U.S. Congress in 1996. The HIPAA Privacy Rule, also called the Standards for Privacy of
Individually Identifiable Health Information, provided the first nationally–recognizable regulations
for the use/disclosure of an individual's health information. The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes
national standards to protect individuals' medical records and other personal health information and
applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers that conduct
certain health care transactions electronically. (OCR 2003) When discussing the question, does
HIPAA affect the patients access to his or her medical records. ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings; 6. Law Enforcement Purposes; 7. Decedents; 8. Cadaveric
Organ, Eye, or Tissue Donation; 9. Research; 10. Serious Threat to Health or Safety; 11. Essential
Government Functions; 12. Workers Compensation. (HHS 2003) According to HIPAA Privacy Rule.
Each covered entity, with certain exceptions, must provide a notice of its privacy practices. The
Privacy Rule requires that the notice contain certain elements. "The notice must describe the ways in
which the covered entity may use and disclose protected health information. The notice must state
the covered entity's duties to protect privacy, provide a notice of privacy practices, and abide by the
terms of the current notice. The notice must describe individuals' rights, including the right to
complain to HHS and to the covered entity if they believe their privacy rights have been violated.
The notice must include a point of contact for further information and for making complaints to the
covered entity. Covered entities must act in accordance with their notices." (HHS 2003) Every
medical office employees are required to be trained in all the procedures and policies with HIPAA to
understand the confidentiality for all patients. It is the responsibility of the covered entity to train its
personnel on the policies, procedures and how these are to be carried out by its personnel. Then, the
HIPAA's Privacy Rule states that, "a covered entity must train all workforce members

The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (...
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted for the purpose of
protecting the privacy of a client 's personal and health information.¹ Under HIPAA, protected health
information (PHI) includes but is not limited to the following: a person 's name, address, date of
birth, age, phone and fax numbers, e–mail address, medical records, diagnosis, x–rays, photos,
prescriptions, lab work, or test results.¹ In this particular case scenario, a healthcare employee not
only breached HIPAA in regards to publically releasing a patient's PHI without the consent of the
patient, but they also betrayed their patient's trust. Regardless of any personal relationship a physical
therapist would have with another healthcare professional, steps must be taken to assure that this
breach in patient confidentiality is rectified and that a similar mistake is not made again. This
particular situation is made increasingly difficult due to the nature of not only my professional
working relationship with this fellow member of the healthcare team, but also by the fact that I
consider her one of my closest friends. Although I am not directly in charge of a certified
occupational therapy assistant's (COTA) patient case load, it is my "legal obligation to protect
confidential patient/client information" according to Principle 2E of the Physical Therapy Code of
Ethics.² Also according to the Physical Therapy Code of Ethics section 4C, "physical therapists shall
discourage

If any of these covered entities shares information with others, it must establish contracts to protect
the shared information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is
Protected Health Information (PHI) that:
Relates to a person's physical or mental health, the provision of health care, or the payment for
health care.
Identifies the person who is the subject of the information.
Is created or received by a covered entity
Is transmitted or maintained in any form (paper, electronic, or oral)
There are five major components to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA) Privacy Rule, these are as follows:
Boundaries: – which states that Protected Health Information (PHI) may be disclosed for health
purposes only, with very limited exceptions.
Security: – which states that Protected Health Information (PHI) should not be distributed without
patient authorization, unless there is a clear basis for doing so, and the individuals who receive the
information must safeguard it.
Consumer control: – this states that individuals are entitled to access and control their health records
and are to be informed of the purposes for which information is being disclosed and used.
Accountability: – this also states that any entities that improperly handle Protected Health
Information (PHI) can be charged under criminal law and punished and are subject to civil recourse
as well.
Public responsibility:– this also states that individual interests must

The Current Health Insurance Portability And...
Summary Any company that's looking to comply with the current Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards can benefit from the training courses and management tools
available through the Accountable platform. Everything that Accountable does is geared towards
making HIPAA compliance an easier and more attainable goal. With the intuitive interface you'll be
able to move step by step through everything that needs to be accomplished in order to achieve
complete HIPAA compliance, which saves time and effort. The Accountable platform also provides
users with maintenance tools for Business Associate Agreements, which are necessary contracts
between individuals and business entities that help to protect the personal ... Show more content on
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Through the Accountable interface you'll even be able to send out reminder emails to employees that
have not yet completed their necessary training. Because Accountable offers white label
customization, you can personalize the training courses so that they match up with other aspects of
your company. For instance, you can use your own company's logo and adhere to themes and colors
that are associated with your brand, removing the Accountable name entirely from the courses. This
level of customization is included automatically as part of the Accountable package for companies
with more than 25 employees. These training courses generally take 30 to 45 minutes to finish,
providing you with an efficient and relatively quick method of teaching your employees everything
they need to know related to HIPAA. Once the courses have been completed each year, your
employees will receive printable training certificates, which can also be customized to your liking in
order to match up with the company's brand. Additionally, once you have reached HIPAA
compliance, your company will be provided with an HIPAA Compliant badge that can be displayed
on the company website, in a physical location, or anywhere else. All of this training material can be
accessed through your browser without having to download any additional software to your
computer. Your employees will also have access to the Accountable

Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPAA
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a national rules and regulations
enacted mandated by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to regulate the privacy
and security of medical information. The intent of the law is to increase effective management of
health insurance coverage, reduce healthcare scheme and abuse and to protect privacy of personal
health records. The rules and regulatory measures first came into effect in 1996, since then it has
gone through improvements and changes. In addition, DHHS published changes in January, 2013,
called the "omnibus" rule. The purpose of this is to offer the public with increased power over
personal health information as a result of heightened Health Information

Most of us are familiar with The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as
the federal law that ensures protection and security of patients' personal and health information. Its
initial purpose was to protect transmittal of electronic health information as technology began
replacing paper (records, communications, and such.) While our personal information is being
protected, and it prevents insurance companies from using this information against us when they are
determining rates, how does this affect health research? The initial reaction by many researchers to
the implementation of HIPAA rules was that research efforts would be hampered due to the
difficulty and perhaps inability to gather patient health information. ... Show more content on
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Impact of HIPAA on Health Research
The implementation of HIPAA, specifically the final rule, known as the Standards for Privacy of
Individually Identifiable Information: 45 cfr parts 160 and 164, was intended to "assure that
individuals' health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information
needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public 's health and well–
being. "(Secretary, H. O. n.d.). Researchers complied with the HIPAA ruling by implementing
collection of waivers, consent forms, and surveys, which required approval by an Institutional
Review Board (IRB) before data could be used. It appears that for the most part, with proper
documentation and proper review and authorization of the documentation, HIPAA has not hindered
researchers in their data collection from patients. However, there are those who believed that the
implementation of HIPAA had negative repercussions in regards to data collection in regards to
health research.
Mitigation of HIPAA roadblocks with Waivers
Bob Brown, PhD, director of Health Informatics at Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for
Medical Studies, reports that HIPAA requirements has not negatively impacted health research at
MSU. However, its effect on research has been the need for researchers to obtain written permission
from patients. The potential roadblock of HIPAA privacy rules have been mitigated by utilizing
waivers signed by

What Is The Health Insurance Portability And...
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act that was passed by Congress in 1996, Federal law that restricts
access to individuals' private medical information: The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 was enacted by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill
Clinton in 1996. . HIPAA does the following: Provides the ability to transfer and continue health
insurance coverage for millions of American workers and their families when they change or lose
their jobs; Reduces health care fraud and abuse; mandates industry–wide standards for health care
information on electronic billing and other processes; and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
The Privacy Rule strives hard to regulate the sharing of PHI without making it a deterrent for
accessing healthcare facilities. Thus, the Privacy Rule does permit disclosures, under special
circumstances, wherein individual authorization is not needed by public healthcare authorities. The
medical services industry is consistently moving to base patient records and the conveyance of
social insurance data. For this data the utilization of PC systems have increased concerns about the
security of that data. Since the structures association improvement is ending up more ordinary with
each

Abstract 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 was passed on August 21, 1996. HIPAA was passed by the United States Congress and it was
signed by the President at that time, whom was Bill Clinton. HIPAA consists of five titles. Title I is
health insurance portability, which protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families
when they change or lose their jobs. Title II is administrative simplification, which require the
Department of Health and Human Services to establish national standards for electronic health care
transactions and national identifiers for providers, health plans, and employers. It also addresses the
security rule which covers electronic protected health information and privacy of health data

There are many legal and ethical issues that come with working in the health care sector. In order to
protect the public the government often places many laws to protect the information and privacy of
patients from being misused. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA as
it is known is such law that was implemented in order to maintain the security and privacy of
patients. The HIPAA Privacy Rule provides federal protections for individually identifiable health
information held by covered entities and their business associates and gives patients an array of
rights with respect to that information. The Privacy Rule is balanced so that it permits the disclosure
of health information needed for patient care and other important purposes. The Security Rule
specifies a series of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for covered entities and their
business associates to use to assure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic
protected health information (www.hhs.gov., n.d.). The health care administrators of today are
charged with keeping up with the many compliance and regulations associated with the HIPAA
privacy act. The legal and ethical responsibilities that come with their roles are a difficult one.
Administrators must aide in safeguarding patient's information and stay within the guidelines and
regulations as directed by the governing bodies that enforce these rules. With this in mind we must
also examine the role of

In the mid–90's, the internet and various advanced technologies were an unescapable part of
everyday life. The World Wide Web, computers, and software became common place fixtures in any
business or health care related profession. While these advances increased workplace efficiency and
the ease in which one could access company and patient information, it opened organizations and
individuals up to security breaches and unsecured information. Overall, these developments brought
to light the need for enhanced security and patient control over medical records and treatment. In
1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by Congress
and has become a legal standard in healthcare and method of ensuring ... Show more content on
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In addition, a majority of health care providers are included, such as doctors, hospitals, mental
health professionals, dentists, pharmacies, and alternative medicine providers, such as chiropractors.
Health Care Clearinghouses fall under the covered entities heading and refer to those businesses that
deal with health information that is nonstandard. Business that have any involvement with one of the
above listed covered entities, such as billing companies, lawyers, information technology specialist,
or accounting firm are also legally bound by HIPPA and the subsequent Privacy and Security Acts.
There are certain group of people and companies that are not required to adhere to these acts, and
included in this categories are worker compensation companies, life insurers, law enforcement, state
agencies, schools, or employers.
It is important for the both the patient and health care provider to understand what information is
being protected, as to avoid any security breach. This protected information included any
information in various medical records, patient conversations with all health care professionals
about care and treatment, billing data, and a majority of other information regarding patient health.
Any patient has the right to see and receive a copy of any health records, request correction be made
to a variety of health–related information, control over who the medical records are shared with,

In August of 1996, Congress enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act,
known as HIPAA. The primary purpose of HIPAA was to protect an individual from losing their
health insurance; If they decided to change jobs or have pre–existing conditions. Another purpose of
HIPAA was to reduce the costs and administrative burdens of healthcare by creating electronic
formats. HIPAA is also used to develop standards and requirements to protect the privacy and
security of protected health information. HIPAA consist of five titles. The main two important titles
were title I and II. Title I focuses on the health insurance reform. The second title of HIPAA, applies
to the Administrative simplifications; in which, includes the electronic transactions and code sets,
unique indemnifiers, privacy and security. However, the Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS), was required to issue two separate Regulations referred to as the Privacy Rule and the
Security rule. The administrative simplification Provisions of HIPAA required the DHHS to publish
standards for electronic exchange, privacy and security of health information. The main goal of the
privacy rule was to protect the use and disclosure of an individuals protected health information .
The privacy rule began on April 14, 2003. The Office for Civil Rights was responsible for enforcing
the privacy rule and the security rule. OCR enforcement activities have obtained significant results
that

Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Of 1996
What is HIPPA? The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 amends the
Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986. The Administrative Simplification section of this act that
has a pervasive effect on health plans, billing agencies, information systems vendors, and other
providers. Within the provisions of this section, HIPAA requires improved efficiency in healthcare
delivery by standardized in electronic data interchange (EDI) and protection of confidentiality and
security of health data through setting and enforcing standards. (HIPAA). . Accreditation is the
evaluation process in healthcare systems that ensure that it is conducting business in a manner that
meets criteria and remains consistent with national standards. In order for healthcare organizations
to remain compliant, there are standards that need to be met annually to maintain accreditation to
handle claims they are most often used by companies that are self–insured. Healthscope Benefits is
one of the top five companies that work with benefits that have contracts with more than 300
groups, that administers benefits and process claims. The IRS raided unknown business companies
'and their computers which held up to 10 million healthcare records without a warrant to seize the
property. The IRS has a program to enforce taxpayers are covered with their tax returns, not to view
private medical history and medical records. The question is does the IRS have the right to hold
information that

In 1996, Congress endorsed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which
Title I and Title II of HIPPA was developed. Title I main objects is to protect an employee who
discovers themselves without a job or in the middle of changing jobs to ensure insurance coverage
remains. Title II is a national safeguard against electronic healthcare transactions and creates
provisions for the safety and privacy of health information (Polito, 2012). HIPAA privacy rules
protect patients ' privacy and provide patients access to their medical records. The security standards
include certain integrity, privacy, and physical safeguards component, protecting computer systems
and network system from physical intrusion and hazards. This security measure is headed in the
right direction to display the steps needed to protect all data and procedures by regulations. With
HIPPA rules in place, an individual has the right to request any of the entities that the electronic
protected health information shows that are not accurate. To ensure al privacy steps has been taken it
will involves communications between the medical organization database medical staff and the
patient who has requested information to remain as secret. A Good example would be when an
individual give medical office his work number to use as a form of communication , in place of his
or cellular or home phone number. HIPAA seeks to balance the protection regarding the privacy of
patient 's health

Congress recognizing the growth in healthcare technology passed into law on August 21, 1996, the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Booth 2011). HIPAA was created
with the purpose of improving the portability and continuity of health care coverage(Booth 2011).
The function of this national framework is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the
healthcare delivery system by creating privacy protection that builds on efforts by all 50 states (
Booth 2011). This consolidated effort is geared toward protecting and enhancing the rights of
patients by providing them access to their health information and at the same time controlling the
inappropriate use or revelation of their pertinent health information (Booth 2011). HIPPA, which is
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Introduction The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HPAA) violation has been a
continuous problem for the healthcare industry. The Mishandling of private health information has
become far too common in today's health system, resulting in negative or harmful effects on patients
and the health care providers. Therefore, of main concern in the health care industry is to secure the
confidential Protected Health Information (PHI). Healthcare professionals have the ethical, moral,
and legal obligation to protect all electronic health data. Failure to adhere to the law can have both
ethical and legal ramifications that can result in civil and criminal penalties (Indiana University
2016).
Legal and Ethical Ramifications One of the penalties of the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HPAA) violations is the Civil penalty. Civil law involves crimes

History The history of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPPA, began in
1996 when a legal mandate was issue by Congress to protect the ethical principles and
confidentiality of patient information (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014). Prior to this legislation,
employees were not protected between jobs. Waste, fraud and abuse in health insurance and
healthcare delivery was prevalent. The need to protect the rights of the patient was needed but also
the Act contained passages to promote the use of medical savings accounts by introducing tax
breaks, provides coverage for employees with pre–existing medical conditions and simplifies the
administration of health insurance. Once HIPAA had been signed into law, the US Department of
Health and Human Services set about creating the first HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. The
Privacy Rule had an effective compliance date of April 14, 2003, and it defined Protected Health
Information (PHI) as "any information held by a covered entity which concerns health status, the
provision of healthcare, or payment for healthcare that can be linked to an individual". Instructions
were issued on how PHI should be disclosed and that permission should be sought from patients
before using their personal information for marketing, fundraising or research. It also gave patients
the right to withhold information about their healthcare from health insurance providers when their
treatment is privately funded. The HIPAA Security

Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Essay
Final Research Paper
Dominique Bracco
Healthcare Today (300)
Professor Diana
December 7, 2016 Abstract 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 personal data,
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 was passed on August 21, 1996. HIPAA was passed by
the United States Congress and it was signed by the President at that time, whom was Bill Clinton.
HIPAA consists of and is divided into five titles. Title I consists of health insurance portability,
which protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose
their jobs. Title II consists of administrative simplification, which require the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) to establish national standards for electronic

In 1996 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This act of congress has
changed how every covered entity manages and distributes health information. Standards have been
established for providers. Patients have the right to view their health records. They also have
recourse if their health information is disclosed without their permission.
As a patient you (or your personal representative) have the right to view and receive a copy of your
medical and billing records from physicians, pharmacists and health insurance provider. This record
can be electronic or a paper copy. Patient's can also request that their health records be sent to
another health care provider. A health care provider or health plan may ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
If your provider wants to share information about you, they must request permission from you to do
so. If you find that your medical record contains an error, you can request a correction. Your
physician is required to respond to this request. If the physician does not agree with you, the patient
is allowed to write a statement of disagreement that must be kept with your records.
A breach is usually described as "an impermissible use (or disclosure) under the Privacy Rule that
compromises the security or privacy of protected health information." There are three exceptions to
the definition of "breach." The first exception applies to the unintentional acquisition, access, or use
of protected health information by a workforce member. This can also apply to a person acting under
the authority of a covered entity or business associate. If such acquisition, access, or use was made
in good faith and within the scope of authority, it qualifies as an exception. The second exception
applies to the inadvertent disclosure of protected health information by a person authorized to access
protected health information at a covered entity or business associate to another person authorized to
access protected health information at the covered entity or business associate, or organized health
care arrangement in which the covered entity participates. In both cases, the information cannot be
further used or

Mr. / Mrs. CEO, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule is
the driving force in protecting our patient's information. We take patient privacy serious and will
continue to do so. The following is a summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the Notice of Privacy
Practices (NPP). Organizations/facilities that are regulated by the Privacy rule are called entities.
Entities play a major part in protecting patient's health information. Per the Health and Humans
Services (HHS), "A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to assure that individuals' health information is
properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote
high quality health care and to protect the public 's ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
3) are in place in order to protect individually identifiable information. HIPAA requires that
individually identifiable information be protected. This information includes but not limited to any
information pertaining to physical or mental health, provisions of health care, payment or any other
information that can lead to the patient's identity. Currently, there aren't restrictions on de–identified
information. The entity must first ensure that there are no individually identifiable information
within the document before disclosing the information. Notices of Privacy Practices (NPP) for this
facility has been put into place. The NPP tells the patient how their information may be used and
disclosed. "An individual has a right to receive adequate notice of how a covered entity (CE) may
use and disclose his or her protected health information (PHI)" (AHIMA, 2013). The NPP Practices
must be handed out to the patient prior to services rendered. The following is a list of statements
made within our NPP. 1. A statement of how the patient's information will be used with examples.
For example, treatment, research or appointment reminders. 2. A statement that the patient' s
information will only be disclosed with the written consent of the patient and that that authorization
can be withdrawn at any time. 3. A statement that the patients' information may be released under
certain circumstances without their written consent. 4. Statement of who the

Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Of 1996
Every day in the healthcare industry professional are reminded of HIPAA (Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and the important role it plays in daily task. Every
patient is protected under HIPAA there really is never an time that HIPAA does not apply to health
information. The expectation to protecting private health information under HIPAA is within the
school districts in the communities. The school districts records that contain students private health
information does not fall under HIPAA regulations. That information actually is covered under the
FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act). This is a cause of a privacy concern for students
K–12 private health information contained in the students record.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 HIPAA law is for the protection of
patient's private health information. All covered entities must abide by HIPAA regulations in regards
to all protect health information. HIPAA out line privacy and security rules in regards to the use and
disclosure of all health information. This helps prevent abuse of protected information and allows
patients to understand a covered entities responsibility to protect the information that is within the
medical record. HIPAA was enacted in 1996 and has been followed by all covered entities since.
Privacy Rule
Covered entities that are required to follow the privacy rule are health care plans, health care
providers, and health care clearing

We never stop worrying about our children's health–be they five or fifty. However, once our children
turn eighteen, we as parents no longer have the right to receive their medical information –
regardless if they are covered under our health insurance and even if we happen to be footing the
bill! It is pertinent that all adult children (not just college students) complete the HIPAA
authorization form. Named for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA),
this form authorizes medical care providers to release and share the student's general medical
information (such as diagnoses, medications, and test results) to the parents (or other designated
individuals). Without it, health providers are legally prohibited from sharing ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
A durable power of attorney allows the parent access, in the event their child becomes incapacitated,
to their bank accounts or credit cards.
Absent a crisis, a power of attorney grants parents the authority to sign documents for their child,
(which is particularly helpful if students go abroad), as well as renew the child's car registration or
file a tax return on their behalf.
Similar to the health–care proxy, lawyers are not needed to draft a durable power of attorney, but a
legal professional can simplify an often daunting process.
FERPA
Of the four documents discussed, FERPA is one that is more of a personal preference rather than a
necessity. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 was designed to protect
the privacy of educational records, establish the rights of students to inspect and review their
educational records, and it also provides control over the release of educational record information.
Once a student turns eighteen, or attends school beyond secondary school, the rights of access to all
the student's records–including GPA, academic transcript, academic warning, academic probation,
or discipline records–transfer to the student. Without specific, written permission from the student,
parents are not privy to the

The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Of...
HIPPA Compliance Administrators that practice in a healthcare setting are used to the turbulence
and at times rapid change in healthcare. They find themselves in the private, public, or non–profit
sectors of health care, managed care arrangements, integrated service networks, or community
agencies. To be an effective manager, it is important to understand the legal and ethical principles
that are included in this environment and the legal relationship between consumer and the
organization. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as
HIPAA, was created to prevent the unauthorized release of patient information. The Office for Civil
Rights enforces the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Personal health information can be anything from general information such as the patient's name,
medical record number, social security number, address, or even their date of birth. Any health
information pertains to the patient such as diagnosis, medical history, medications. Employees must
make sure no medical paper work is visible as well as screen protectors are on all computer screens,
where you may be documenting health information. It is important that all health care employees log
out of a computer when they leave that station. Employees that are aware of a breach of confidently
should use their change of command set up by their facility also notify their incidents or situations
to their hospital's privacy officer. To promote the proper use of health information, the Health
Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH Act, was created. Prior
to the HITECH Act, HIPAA violations only resulted in minimal fines. Violations would result in a
$100 fine, and a covered entity could only achieve a total of $25,000 in fines in one calendar year.
The HITECH Act has broken the violations down into four categories, and has distributed the fines
across them based on the category of violation. The first category would be a violations that caused
by someone who didn't know they were violating HIPAA. The fines for this tier are in the range

Introduction
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicates that HIPAA violations have been
generally increasing throughout the years. Now that electronically maintained patient information
exists, it has become increasingly difficult to limit information sharing in a manner that guarantees
usage for its intended genesis. Personal information travels across several channels, to include
healthcare providers, third party payers, and other business associates. Few controls exist to regulate
how this information is maintained, or disseminated. If state law or local legislation does not forbid
accessing patient health records or sharing patient information, any information held by a provider
or business associate could be passed ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Four years after HITECH, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the
Omnibus Rule to strengthen the movement toward more efficient healthcare delivery, providing
national standards to protect the privacy and security of personal health information, and
establishing rules governing the compliance responsibilities of covered entities (Jenkins, Merz &
Sankar, 2005). The Rule took effect on March 26, 2013.
The Rule implemented changes to HIPAA's Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules mandated by
HITECH, modified the Breach Notification Rule, and finalized revisions to HIPAA's Privacy Rule
to strengthen protections for genetic information. It contains a preemption provision to supersede
conflicting provisions of state law. The Rule requires that covered entities and business associates
modify their policies to reflect these new changes and offers formal assurances to patients that
entities are required to protect personal information by establishing additional standards to better
manage and safeguard health information. The Rule revises provisions of older legislation to
strengthen further the privacy and security protections of individuals' personal health information. In
addition, it reinforces the government's ability to enforce penalties on all those who violate the law,
proportional to the level of negligence. The Rule clarifies ambiguities in previous regulations and
expands definitions as needed to ensure continuity in adherence to security

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...
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 ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Title II focuses on preventing healthcare fraud and abuse, administrative simplification, and medical
liability reform. Within Title II, HIPAA defines lots of violations relating to healthcare and also
outlines the criminal and civil penalties that come along with the violations. Title II also has several
ways to control fraud and abuse within the healthcare system, but the most prominent provision is
the Administrative Simplification rules. These rules state the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) must make rules designed to increase efficiency by creating standards for the use
and the distribution of healthcare information. These rules refer to covered entities such as health
plans, clearinghouses, and health care providers that work with health care data that HIPAA
regulates. Title II requires five rules regarding the Administrative Simplification, the Privacy Rule,
The Security Rule, the Unique Identifiers Rule, and the Enforcement Rule.
The Privacy Rule refers to protected heath information (PHI), which is any identifiable information.
This rule, which was enacted April 14 2003, oversees the use and disclosure of information held by
covered entities. Under this rule, covered entities may only disclose PHI, which can include

1. Introduction The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) applies to health
care providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses ("covered entities") and their business
associates. Any HIPPA covered entity should be extremely knowledgeable about HIPPA regulations.
Any potential and even harmless disclosure of a patient's protected health information can leave a
physician susceptible to several criminal and civil penalties. A breach or violation of HIPAA occurs
when a healthcare provider impermissibly uses or discloses information that compromises the
security or privacy of the "protected health information". In order to compete in the market without
being liable for sanctions, a healthcare provider must have a thorough understanding of how to
properly run a business without violating HIPAA. 2. Medical information uses and disclosures:
Basics Pursuant to HIPPA, a covered entity shall not use or disclose a patient's protected health
information unless HIPPA permits it or the patient authorizes it in writing. However, this rule is not
as simple as it appears to be. 3. When may a covered entity use or disclose protected health
information without obtaining consent? A covered entity is not legally required to obtain an
individual 's authorization for the following for Face–to–face communications (even if the
communication would otherwise be considered marketing.) Also, a covered entity does not have to
obtain an authorization for

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