The document discusses the Patient Privacy Act and HIPAA privacy rules. It explains that under HIPAA, medical organizations can only release protected health information for certain permitted uses, such as for treatment, payment, health care operations, or to the individual. The privacy rules aim to balance patient privacy with sharing health information for important medical reasons. Medical facilities must follow HIPAA's administrative, physical and technical guidelines to ensure confidential patient health information. Nurses must properly document and chart patient information to comply with these privacy standards.

1. LaShonda Dunlap
MHA690 Healthcare Capstone
Ms. Grover
July 19,2012

2. Patient privacy Act part one
 The privacy requirements under HIPPA are that MCO’s may not use or
release PHI unless it is being permitted to do so in certain regulations. There
are five categories of permitted uses in which PHI can be released or
disclosed. The five categories of usages are,” For Payment, Treatment, and
Health, To the individual, For Legal, Public, and Similar, To Business
Associates, and To Plan Sponsors”(Kongstvedt,2007). Confidentiality of
health information has been a controversial public policy issue because
many Americans feel that their medical records or history should remain
private and only shared with other healthcare professionals in life or death
situations. One can protect one’s privacy by not sharing health information
without written consent or faxing to an unknown source. Patients should
have privacy when receiving health care services from doctors and other
health care professionals. Now the HIPAA Privacy Rule law has been
established by the federal government to protect consumers’ medical
records or health information from being violated.

3. Patient Privacy Act part two
 Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Health & Human services (2012)
reported that,” the HIPAA Privacy Rule provides federal protections for
personal health information held by covered entities and gives patients an
array of rights with respect to that information”(p.1). Moreover, the Privacy
Rule was created to form a balance between the providing patients’ health
information for important medical reasons (U.S. Department, 2012). In
addition, a security rule has also been created to provide health care
professionals and health care organizations with
“administrative, physical, and technical” guidelines to insure that patients’
health information are treated in a confidentiality manner (U.S.
Department, 2012).Moreover, the HIPAA Privacy Rules and Security rules
must be followed by health insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid
(U.S. Department, 2012). Hospitals and other healthcare organizations such
as nursing homes must also follow HIPAA Privacy Rules.

4. Patient Privacy Act part three
 For example, I think that when charting in a patient’s record, a
nurse must remember to documents all of his or her
assessments of the current condition and medical history of
their patients. All tasks that are to be completed by the nurse
must be charted after each completion. A nurse must make sure
that she or he rights clearly using hospital-approved
abbreviations to ensure the lack of errors when charting
patients’ records (Williams, 2012). If a mistake has been made
when charting medical records, then the nurse must make sure
that he or she draws a line through the mistake and write the
word error nearby (Williams, 2012). Finally, a nurse must make
sure that she or he provides their first initial and last name
when signing their patients’ medical charts (Williams, 2012).

5. References
 Kongstvedt, P.R. (2007). Essentials of managed health care (5th
ed.). MA: Jones and Bartlett
 Publishers
 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2012). The health
insurance portability and accountability act of 1996 (HIPPA)
privacy and security rules. Retrieved
 June 2, 2012 from: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/
 Williams, K. (2012). Proper charting techniques for nurses. eHow
Money. Retrieved February 23, 2012, from
http://www.ehow.com/how_6554206_proper-charting-
 techniques-nurses.html