...Abstract This paper will explore the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and discuss the following questions: What is the purpose of HIPAA? How does the HIPAA law affect health information managers? What are some ethical issues to consider regarding HIPAA? Finally I will provide some examples of how HIPAA has changed the way the practice of health care and health information is managed. Health Information Portability and Accountability Act In 1996, the United States Congress enacted the Health Care Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and President Bill Clinton signed it into law. HIPAA was introduced as an act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets, to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery, to promote the use of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long-term care services and coverage, to simplify the administration of health insurance, and for other purposes. (Wikipedia) Health Information Managers play critical roles in their day to day work load to ensure compliance with regulations that pertain to the privacy and security of patients’ medical records and information. After the HIPAA was passed in 1996, these HIM professionals were introduced to a new and changing forefront of legislative and regulatory requirements when it comes to dealing with the wealth of...
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...advances in information technology that has resulted in new ethical issues arising that has necessitated the creation of various congressional acts. We will review two of these congressional acts, which are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In both of these congressional acts, we will look at its purpose, the ethical issue/reason requiring the congressional act along with potential implications if the act did not exist. First, we will discuss the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Over the years as information technology became more advanced and widely used in the health and medical field, control measures needed to be established in order to provide additional protection to the rights of patients. On the same note, the medical field needed to be able to quickly share information through information technology in order to provide timely patient care as well. As a result of the need for patient rights while providing and protecting our society through information technology, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was established in 1996. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act require medical offices specifically doctors to ensure the protection and privacy of their patients medical information by using a nation-wide standard format when conducting transactions through the use of information systems. In addition, patient information may be...
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...Administrative Ethics Paper Heather Simmons HCS/335 September 19, 2011 Claudia Haywood Administrative Ethics Paper Health care organizations are responsible for the privacy and proper handling of people’s personal medical and financial information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has been set into place to set the standards to organizations on how to handle patient information and how to deal with any situation that may arise to the best interest of the patient and the organization. There are situations that will arise, and the organization must be prepared to handle it. An instance may arise when the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may have to get involved. The HHS is an organization designed to help enforce the HIPAA rules and regulations and make sure organizations are in compliance with HIPAA. Recently, a major health care organization in Massachusetts, The General Hospital Corporation and Massachusetts General Organization Inc. (Mass General), settled to pay the U.S. Government $1,000,000 because of a HIPAA violation. Documents containing protected health information (PHI) were lost and never recovered from an employee losing a folder containing 192 patient’s records. The employee took the records from the hospital and while riding the subway returning back to work, the employee left the records on the train. The investigation of the missing records was started from a patient discovering their record was lost and...
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... S. Department of Health and Human Services [U. S. DHHS], n.d., p. 1). GCH, in response to the possibility of this type of catastrophic event, began moving to EMR in 2000. Staff training began immediately on EMR use. As an administrator of a hospital located in an area prone to hurricanes, priority is placed on preparing the staff for the possibility of a mass catastrophe. Staff is trained on privacy issues such as Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and ways to prevent the accidental disclosure of health information. Staff members are required to complete yearly education to maintain their competency in this area.essentially unreadable, indecipherable, and otherwise” reconstructed (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services [U. S. DHHS], n.d., p. 1). GCH, in response to the possibility of this type of catastrophic event, began moving to EMR in 2000. Staff training began immediately on EMR use. As an administrator of a hospital located in an area prone to hurricanes, priority is placed on preparing the staff for the possibility of a mass catastrophe. Staff is trained on privacy issues such as Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and ways to prevent the accidental disclosure of health information. Staff members are required to complete yearly education to maintain their competency in this area.essentially unreadable, indecipherable, and otherwise” reconstructed (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services...
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...THE HEALTH INSURACE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA) Abstract This paper will explain what HIPAA is, a brief history and background of it; why it is so important, what are the rules, who is protected, who needs to follow the rules and who does not, who can see the patent information, and what kind of right the patent has. In general, this paper will cover and the importance of HIPAA, and the impacts that have on consumers and providers. This paper examines Mark A. Rothstein (2013) The Federal Register published the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) omnibus amendments to the Health Insurance Portability Act (HIPAA) Privacy, security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Keywords: HIPAA privacy and security of health care records. THE HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA) Understanding HIPAA What is HIPAA? Department of health defined HIPAA as the federal Health insurance portability and accountability act. The objective is to make it easier for people to keep health insurance, protect the confidentiality and security of healthcare information and help the health care industry control administrative cost. HIPAA is written in 1996, enacted in April 14, 2001 and mandated in April 15, 2003. HIPAA is composed of two main rules; The HIPAA privacy rule and The HIPAA security rule. The HIPAA privacy rule provides for the privacy of individual’s personally identifiable health...
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...have it protected. The Federal Act of 1996, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This act is to help people be able to keep health insurance a little easier and protect our information from being given away. The confidentiality and security of our health care information, and it controls the cost of administrative in the health industry. You can go to the doctors and not have to worry about them sharing your information with anyone without your permission because of the HIPAA law. Protecting the patient’s rights is the number one priority when it comes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Even though, the cost of administrative, privacy and right because security of health care information and confidentiality. The implications for health communications, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has different types. Civil and criminal penalty and violations up to but not limited to two hundred and fifty thousand in fines and up to ten years in prison. This information is crucial because you do not want to be giving out someone’s information on accident. Plus you would not want your information out there if it did not have to be. That is how people get frauded. I know I will be more aware of my surrounding when needing to talk about patient's information, so I do not breach the law because I do not want to be penalized or fined. We will use this information in the future in my businesses, but I will also...
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...Evolution of Health Care: Effects of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HCS/533 AHMED JAMAL The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have been under a continuum since it was signed during the Clinton administration in 1996 (Schwartz, 2003). Policies have been implemented to protect patients’ privacy. What the establishment of HIPAA has enforced is that patients’ information must be protected from all unauthorized parties. Patients’ information is being stored electronically. The electronic form will protect the patient’s record from all parties involved with any change that a patient is involved with including insurance companies, employers, and health care providers (Degaspari, 2011). HIPAA has become a routine function in the health care system. Safeguards have been installed on facilities that have computers that store or have access to patient information. HIPAA’s involvement with the electronic system has improved the transmission of patient data while decreasing the number of errors which by comparison improves efficiency. Organizations must implement specific security objectives under HIPAA to be compliant. Under HIPAA standards any unauthorized exposure regardless of the circumstances to which the violation takes place is harmful to the patient. The continued changes have revisited the liability of violators which suggests any organization that is involved or responsible for such actions will be held accountable regardless...
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...Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Compliance Guide US Department of Health and Human Services Information Security Program Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Compliance Guide September 14, 2005 Page i Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Compliance Guide US Department of Health and Human Services Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................... i Preface.........................................................................................................iii Document Change History ............................................................................iv 1. Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2. 2.1 Purpose ........................................................................................... 1 Background...................................................................................... 1 Scope.............................................................................................. 2 Document Organization ..................................................................... 4 HIPAA Administrative Simplification Requirements ........................... 5 General Overview ............................................................................. 5 2.1.1 HIPAA Administrative Simplification Goals and Objectives ............. 5...
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...Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Changing Lives Heather Cuthbert COM 102 June 22, 2014 CollegeAmerica Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Changing Lives The acronym HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA was enacted by congress August 21, 1996 and signed by President Bill Clinton the same year. It had required the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HSS) to propose standards protecting the privacy of individually identifiable health information within a year by August 21, 1997 (Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, n.d.). The overall purpose of HIPAA is to improve the portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in group and individual markets. HIPAA has changed lives in many ways for patients, doctors and medical offices. As a patient it has helped to make them feel more secure with not only their health insurance, but also their personal information. Doctors have had to adjust their offices in many ways in order to comply with HIPAA. Medical offices have had to make changes in how they perform everyday tasks, including the medical offices use of electronic records (Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, n.d.). Effect on Patients HIPAA has made a great impact on the privacy of patient’s personal information. As patient’s it is important to know our rights. Patient’s now have a specific place to file a complaint and there is recourse if a medical practice violates the patient’s...
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...Health Care Information Systems Terms Define the following terms. Your definitions must be in your own words; do not copy them from the textbook. After you have defined each term in your own words, describe in 40 to 60 words the health care setting in which each term would be applied. Utilize a minimum of two research sources to support your claims—one from the University Library and the other from the textbook. Be sure to cite your sources in the References section consistent with APA guidelines. Term | Definition | How Used in Healthcare | Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) | HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a US law designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients' medical records and other health information provided to health plans, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. | HIPAA should be used in all health care settings because it protects patients and deals with privacy rights. The new standards provide patients with access to their medical records and more control over how their personal health information is used and disclosed. So if someone other than the patient’s calls into a medical facility trying to get information about the patients care, the clerk is not allowed to give the person any information unless instructed by the patient that the person is permitted to have the information. | Electronic medical record | Electronic medical record also know as EMR is is...
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...University of Phoenix Material Health Care Information Systems Terms Define the following terms. Your definitions must be in your own words; do not copy them from the textbook. After you have defined each term in your own words, describe in 40 to 60 words the health care setting in which each term would be applied. Utilize a minimum of two research sources to support your claims—one from the University Library and the other from the textbook. Be sure to cite your sources in the References section consistent with APA guidelines. |Term |Definition |How Used in Healthcare | |Health Insurance Portability and | | According to "U.s Department Of Health And| |Accountability Act (HIPAA) |According to "What Does Hippa Stand For" |Human Services" (n.d.), the Office for | | |(2012), HIPPA stands for the Health |Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Privacy | | |Insurance Portability and Accountability |Rule, which protects the privacy of | | |Act, enacted by the US Congress in in 1996.|individually identifiable health | | | |information; the HIPAA Security Rule, which| | ...
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...Affect the Medical Billing Process In this paper we will discuss how HIPAA violations affect the medical billing process and why HIV and AIDS information is more sensitive than other types of health conditions. We will also examine the social, legal, and ethical ramifications of improper information disclosure. In 1996 on August 21, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by the Federal Government and signed into law by President Bill Clinton (HIPAA – The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 2011). According to “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” (2012), “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 electric billing and other processes, and requires the protection and confidential handling of protected health information” (What is HIPAA?). The main reason HIPAA was enacted was to protect patient’s personal health information regardless of its severity. Their personal health information is just that, theirs! For that reason, among many other, it is very important to know that a patient’s personal health information is not to be shared with any unauthorized person for any reason. Kibbe (2001) states “every practice regardless of its size will have to comply with...
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...Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Privacy Rule Abstract As one of the regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996, Public Law 104-191; the HIPPA Privacy Rule sets “the standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information” (Speers, Wilcox, & Brown 2004). Established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2002, this set of national standards deals with the use and disclosure of health information, in addition to the principles guiding patients’ rights over their health information; which includes the right to review, obtain a copy of their health records, and request corrections. The ultimate goal of the Privacy Rule is to protect the confidentiality of patients’ health information while enabling the use of this information for appropriate health care related purposes. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Privacy Rule The Privacy Rule contains standards that outline terms for the electronic exchange, use, and privacy protection of patients’ personally identifiable medical information; also referred to as protected health information (PHI). These standards apply to the following covered entities: health clearinghouses, health plans, and health providers who transmit health information in electronic form; (Hoffman & Podgurski, 2007). Health clearinghouses are businesses that are utilized to process PHI into...
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...HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 T he Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly referred to as HIPAA, became a federal law in 1996. The act contains insurance reform provisions and introduces the establishment of a fraud and abuse control program when rendering medical care to Medicare patients. In 2000, regulations were established to protect the privacy of personal health information maintained by health care providers, health plans, hospitals, health care clearinghouses, and health insurers. These regulations became effective in 2003 (2004 for small health plans). Violators of HIPAA may be subjected to fines, prison, or both. HIPAA is organized into three parts: • Privacy regulations. HIPAA regulations guide health care providers with overall privacy measures, such as turning the charts toward the wall and making sure the computer screen is not visible. Five forms are required (privacy notice, acknowledgment, authorization, business associate agreement, and trading partner agreement). • Transaction standards. Requirements must be followed when putting the office software into HIPAA compliance. • Security regulations. HIPAA requires health care providers to keep computers safe. The first two parts had 2003 deadlines for compliance and the third part has a 2005 deadline. To adhere to the HIPAA regulations, a medical practice must have an appointed privacy official draft privacy policies and procedures, and implement a...
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...employees, and to guarantee work associated benefits and rights. These laws must be followed failing to do so will lead to consequences such as penalties, fines or even imprisonment. Acting accordance with these regulations is vital for organizations but also very time consuming, for this reason a company has to seek the best experts who will put into an effect a program to make sure everything is done the way it should. Starting off with The Employee Retirement Income Security Act also know as ERISA which helped put forwards minimum standards for retirement, health, and other welfare benefit plans in private industry. ERISA secures that the funds placed by an individual in a their retirement plans are available to them even when they retire. ERISA controls the establishment of discretionary benefits practices. For four long decades, ERISA has remained amended to meet the changing retirement and health care requirements of workers, retirees, and people who are part of their family. The requirements of ERISA, which are directed by the U.S. Department of Labor, were passed to report public concern that funds of private pension plans happened to be mishandled and abused. (United States Department of Labor) ERISA was the decision of an extensive line of legislation worried about the labor and tax parts of employee...
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