...The healthcare industry is considered a trillion-dollar industry, growing rapidly with technology and employing millions of healthcare workers in numerous fields. “On August 21, 1996, the U.S. Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The primary goals of the act are to improve the portability and continuity of health-care coverage in group and individual markets; to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health-care insurance and health-care delivery;” (Ramutkowski & Pugh p.50) Being aware and familiar with the Health Insurance Portability Act not only benefits the patient but also protects the employee from falling into such a situation as this Nurse did. This paper will discuss the article’s issue and its effects, how the article uses current facts about healthcare and the issue addressed, the managerial responsibilities related to administrative ethical issues, and any proposed solutions. The article “Staff Nurse Faces Jail Time for HIPAA Violations” took place in 2008 years after the HIPAA law was enacted. “What had begun as routine file maintenance ended in arrest and possible jail time for a licensed practical nurse who shared medical information with her spouse.” (Latner p.1) Mrs. A had been employed at this physician’s office for over 4 years when the incident occurred. Her husband Mr. A was pending a lawsuit from a current auto accident which would put a strain on their family financially. Mrs. A (RN) decides to take measures...
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...IMMEDIATE RELEASE (222 E VAN BUREN AVE SUITE 615) R3ST Healthcare Cyber Compliance Solutions announces they are making the HIPAA compliance process easier, faster and less expensive for healthcare providers. A fundamental requirement of the HIPAA Security Rule #69 involves conducting an annual HIPAA Security Risk Assessment. R3ST Healthcare Cyber Compliance Solutions has made risk assessment and Cyber Security Compliance easier and less complicated for their clients. Whether a client needs assistance with mobile security solutions, application and data security or another task, this company can be of help. "Technology advances at a rapid pace, thus healthcare providers must continually review the HIPAA requirements to ensure they remain in compliance. Furthermore, as more providers implement new tools, such as applications for mobile devices, they need to ensure these tools aren't in violation of any regulations. Compliance remains of concern to many in healthcare, thus they now turn to third party providers to ensure they don't unintentionally violate one or more of these regulations. R3ST is here to help healthcare providers in this situation," Tareq Allan, spokesperson for R3ST Healthcare Cyber Compliance Solutions, announces....
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...HIPAA Privacy Rule is one the most important regulations in the Health and Human Services (HHS) because it sets the guidelines forcing medical practices to keep patients date securely and privacy. The Privacy Rule mandates that the minimum amount of protected health information (PHI) is to be accessed or requested by HIPAA covered entities (www.hhs.gov, 2014). Nowadays, healthcare providers need quick access to patient medical information anywhere at any time the patients present in order to provide efficiency and quality care to patients. Since people can access to patient’s information easily, the number of HIPPA violations increase dramatically. The advent of the internet has had a major impact on the healthcare industry in the last...
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...HIPAA and Social Media Lolita Stanton January 27, 2013 National Louis University HCL 430 Social media has taking the world by storm. Face book, My Space, Twitter, and many more are connecting people of the world to one another. In the article “Social Media and HIPAA Compliance”, the author takes a look at the rules that govern HIPAA and social media. HIPAA is an abbreviation for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. HIPAA is a federal law that contains strong rules that regulate the use of disclosure of (PHI) Protected Health Information. PHI is considered to be any information that contains health status, provisions of health care or payment for health care that can be linked to an individual. If a person feels like their rights have been violated, they can file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services or the office for civil rights. If a health care provider is found guilty of a HIPAA violation, the person will pay a monetary penalty. This articles main focus was to show how social media can play a positive roll if used correctly by healthcare providers and patients. Many Bariatric patients have found comfort in the social media sites. Some institutions use social media to form forums to help patients. Social media sites can be used for support groups. It is always helpful when you can find someone...
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...Diane Hotaling HT1000 Week 3 assignment 3/18/2014 The 5W’s behind recent healthcare reform initiatives and how they have, are or can impact the delivery of healthcare and HIM professionals. There have been many controversies over healthcare reform ideas and all the issues that may or may not arise affecting everything from the delivery and costs to the patients, HIM and surrounding professionals roles, and the politicians and the different ideas they stand behind. Examples of some of the most influential and recent initiatives are HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)enforced in 1996 and ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) and its revision HITECH(Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Act) of 2009 Each of these reforms have impacted the delivery of healthcare and therefore everyone in the U.S and especially with each reform new challenges, changes, benefits and/or problems for the HIM professionals and their roles and all they consist of. An HIM professional can work in many environments, including from home, private offices, doctors offices, nursing homes, hospitals and anywhere else that healthcare and/or PHI and/or EHR are handled. The HIM profession not only exists physically in numerous healthcare places but can work in numerous areas in the field such as medical billing and coding, a secretary, in any health area as a clerk, with many electronic systems such as HHS, MPI, HER, RIS and so many more and as the medical...
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...Patient Confidentiality and HIPAA Heather Lyday HCIS/245 November 8, 2015 Kathleen Healy-Collier Patient Confidentiality and HIPAA The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA, is a law that is meant to; improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and healthcare delivery, promote use of medical savings accounts, improve access to long-term care, and simplify administration of health insurance. The HIPAA privacy standards are designed to protect a patient’s identifiable health information from unauthorized disclosure or use in any form, while permitting the practice to deliver the best healthcare possible. To comply with the law, privacy activities in the average medical office can be: providing a copy of the office privacy policy informing patients about their privacy rights and how their information can be used, asking the patient to acknowledge receiving a copy of the policy and/or signing a consent form, obtaining signed authorization forms, adopting clear privacy procedures, training employees so that they understand the privacy procedures, designating someone to be responsible for seeing that the privacy procedures are adopted and followed, and securing patient records containing individually identifiable health information so that they are not easily made available to those who do not need them. Failure to comply with HIPAA can result in civil and criminal penalties...
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...lives online. Consumers can shop, pay bills, and apply for credit with a simple click of a button. Some healthcare providers now have patient portals, where patients can access their medical records, review and pay their bills online and even schedule their own appointments. This is not only convenient but also makes sense with today’s technology. A patient portal is a Web-based access point that allows doctors and patients to communicate and share health information remotely, supplementing the ongoing management of the patient's care. While portals can't replace an in-office visit, they have many benefits: They are "designed to boost patient's involvement in their care," as portals encourage viewing test results and health documentation and can facilitate an ongoing doctor-patient dialogue. Additionally, portals can reduce costly paperwork by serving as online billing and payment centers (Healthcare IT) but with all of this technology and access to private information, how are consumers protected? How do they know their records are being kept confidential and not broadcasted online for everyone else to see? Patients and their private health information are protected through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act also known as HIPAA. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or the HIPAA was endorsed by the U.S. Congress. The HIPAA Privacy Rule, also called the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, provided...
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...Accountability Act (HIPAA) A shadow chart (not part of the legal medical record) is a copy of original health record retained apart from the primary custodial area used primary by health care providers in their office or clinic setting. Independent databases are often created by researchers and may not include the same content as the original health record. In case of a late entry (addendum) in one, shadow chart or independent database, that is used to add information to a previous entry must have the title addendum, date, time, the reasons of creating the addendum referring back to the original entry (Legal Medical Records Standards). Information technology staff can help decrease incidents of security breaches by implementing screen protectors in all computers, by providing logging accreditation to all personnel, by using network security software and hardware, by monitoring the safety of the network and by educating, reporting and enforcing any HIPAA violation. In case of disclosure of unauthorized protected medical information such as providing a copy of medical records to a friend of a patient without written authorization from the patient may result in fines and imprisonment to the institution and individuals involved in such HIPAA violation. HIPAA defines as criminal the use or disclosure (by individuals or institutions) of confidential medical information of a patient for any other purposes than treatment, payment, or health care operations. Such violations carry fines...
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...It’s important as members of the Gainesville Community Hospital to understand what HIPAA is, how it operates, and how it affects us as healthcare providers in many ways. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in 1996 by congress to ensure the protection and privacy of patient health information whether that be in a clinic, hospital, nursing facility, or dental office. The major focus of HIPAA is making sure that as patient information that is being shared whether by mail, phone, or electronically that information that is disclosed is protected. There is information that as healthcare providers we need to know to protect our patient rights and ourselves as the providers. HIPAA has implemented some new rights concerning health information of a patient called Protected Health Information (PHI). The privacy rule calls all “Individually identifiable health information”, PHI. We should also be aware that there is the possibility of being fined if there is a violation or breach to comply with the rules and regulations whether they are violated accidentally or purposely. If an employee violated a HIPAA regulation without knowledge of doing so than that employee can be fined 100 per violation with a maximum amount of 25,000. The maximum penalty is 50,000 per violation with an annual maximum amount of 1.5 million. No one wants to find themselves owing this kind of money and more importantly,...
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...Is It Worth the Risk? Social Media and Healthcare Robert Shaw NR360: Info Systems Chamberlain College of Nursing Fall 2015 Is It Worth the Risk? Social Media and Healthcare Social media has taken over the way that we interact with one another. It is leading the way in which we communicate with family, friends, coworkers and strangers. It is also the way we keep up with our favorite celebrities and gossip. Social media and the use of smartphones are becoming more prevalent in business and the healthcare field as well. According to Pew Research Center, “62% of smartphone owners have used their phone in the past year to look up information about a health condition” (April, 2015). Technology, just like all things come with flaws and setbacks. However, with the new technology being created every day, along with the increasing use of both smartphones and social media, using these outlets for patient-provider relationships can enhance overall patient trust and care. That being said, ensuring that patient privacy is not violated has to be the number one priority. Advances in technology and media can pose great triumphs for healthcare further down the road, as long as the appropriate measures are taken to ensure that HIPAA standards are being met at all times while using these outlets. Understanding HIPAA’s Guidelines for Securing Patient Information HIPAA’s Privacy Rule sets the guidelines for the use and disclosure of protected health information (HHS, n.d). This Privacy...
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...cost-effective health care. As a result of health care costs sharply increasing, the government determined it needed to have oversight on the health care industry and pushed for the establishment of managed care organizations (MCO). CMS enforces the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA); this act was created to ensure health care organizations provide a minimum of a medical screening exam to determine if complaint is emergent or not. Most importantly for EMTALA is the obligation to treat emergent cases regardless of the patient’s ability to pay for services. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was approved by the United States Congress to regulate the use of and protect patient health records and the Department of Health & Human Services oversees the compliance and violations of HIPAA (Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.). The intentions of many of these regulatory agencies is to oversee that the health care industry is providing quality, affordable health care and treating patients with fairness and privacy. In 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) projected that by 2017 the “annual health care spending in the United States [will] reach more than $4.3 trillion” ("CMS: Steady Growth in Health Spending," 2008). Health care costs will continue to rise so it is important that CMS works to manage those costs. CMS is one of the biggest governmental regulatory agencies known in the health...
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...HC260DL March 2, 2014 HIPAA And How It Effects Nursing Care: I. What is HIPAA? II. Patient’s Bill of Rights III. Violating HIPAA IV. Ways Hospitals Protect Patient Privacy V. Conclusion: Nurses on the frontline In order to explain how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act are affecting nursing care today, the act itself must be defined. HIPAA is one of the most important acts that have been passed to protect patients’ privacy and give them security. HIPAA privacy standards include some of the most restrictive guidelines in regards to accessing identifiable health information and disclosures. The guidelines were set into place to protect the patient from having their information disclosed verbally, written or by electronic transfer (Pozgar, 2012). The Privacy rule is clearly defined as “HIPAA”, which ensures the privacy and protection of all health information. Before HIPAA many states had their own standards and guidelines for healthcare privacy and practice (ANA, 2014). HIPAA has given us unison and uniformity as a healthcare nation, not just a state. The standards and guidelines protecting the privacy of an individual’s health information were issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HIPAA 101, 2014). The privacy rule, does allow the use of healthcare information to promote the best quality of health care. The rule also protects the confidentiality of the patient. HIPAA also affects the patient’s own...
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...parts of the administrative simplification requirements of HIPAA? • Electronic transactions and code sets standards requirements • Privacy requirements • Security requirements • National identifier requirements 2. Name 3 factors used to determine whether you need to comply with HIPAA. a. Whether the health plan is self-insured or fully insured b. Whether the plan sponsor receives PHI or SHI c. How the plan sponsor utilizes SHI. 3. What are the three categories of entities affected by HIPAA Medical Privacy Regulations? • Health Care Providers: Any provider of medical or other health services, or supplies, who transmits any health information in electronic form in connection with a transaction for which standard requirements have been adopted. • Health Plans: Any individual or group plan that provides or pays the cost of health care. • Health Care Clearinghouses: A public or private entity that transforms health care transactions from one format to another. 4. What would Business Associates of covered entities consist of as it pertains to HIPAA’s regulation? HIPAA defines a business associate as an individual or corporate "person" that: • performs on behalf of the covered entity any function or activity involving the use or disclosure of protected health information (PHI); and • is not a member of the covered entity's workforce. 5. Who is covered by the Privacy Rule in HIPAA? Give some examples. • Health care providers who transmit...
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...Smith Independence University HCA 542A Mod 11:2011 8wk-online Final Paper October 10, 2011 HIPPA This paper will begin with a brief background and history on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Following the background will be details about issues that are address within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The purpose of this paper is to provide a foundation with providing some information about HIPAA. Background The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by Congress in 1996 in response to several issues facing health care coverage, privacy, security and fraud in the United States (ALL THINGS MEDICAL BILLING, 2011, para. 2). Before HIPAA, rules and regulations varied by state, there was no real consistency. Also, there was confusion as to which regulations were applicable and to whom. Did the rules apply in the states where the organization was doing business or where the organization was based? There was also no uniformity between state and federal requirements (ALL THINGS MEDICAL BILLING, 2011, para. 3). With regard to privacy, there were numerous uncoordinated federal acts which addressed privacy in some form. Prior to HIPAA, there was no standard authority for enforcement of fraud and abuse that applied to state and federal health care programs (ALL THINGS MEDICAL BILLING, 2011, para. 4). Congress recognized the increased use of electronic...
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...Act, HIPAA. For the purpose of the exercise, this document will examine a typical visit to the doctor’s office. The focus will be to identify the various organizational, administrative, physical and technical safeguards that a doctor’s office should have in place to protect protected health information (PHI) as well as provide guidance in needed areas for compliance. In particular, the paper’s focus pinpoints the ePHI although all health information, written and oral should be addressed with HIPAA. The importance of protecting the confidentiality of patient information requires a synergy of effort from IT, management and staff. Purpose The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed by Congress in 1996 and deals with security of healthcare information (HIPAA Administrative Simplification Statute and Rules, n.d.). The HIPAA regulations apply to health care providers who transmit any health information electronically, health plans (including Medicare and Medicaid programs), health care clearinghouses and healthcare business associates (Unknown, 2013). HIPAA defines a health care provider as a provider of medical or health services or any other person or organization who furnishes, bills, or is paid for health care in the normal course of business (Unknown, 2013). The intention is to protect the individual’s privacy and confidentiality throughout the gathering, transmitting and storing of healthcare information. The various components of HIPAA cover...
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