After HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act was passed in 1996 by the US Congress; the patient medical records were bound to be more protected. The private policy was designed to protect the individually identifiable information on health which is held or transmitted through any covered entity in any form including print, electronic or oral. At the same time, this privacy rule also permits disclosure of health related information of a person who needs patient care or other important purpose.
The information which is considered as ‘individually identifiable’ relates to the following:
• The past, present or future conditions related to either physical or mental health of the individual.
• An individual’s provision of healthcare
• The payment for health care which took place in the past, present or future of the individual.
The common identifiers like name, birth date, address and social security number are also included in the individually identifiable information.
With the application of this law, the health care organisations have to be cautious about whom to share the information of patient with. Thus, it acts as an added responsibility for the staff. The separate billing system can be beneficial in such situations for a health care organisation, since they helps in getting the EMR and private policy in place. The separate billing system can also substantially improve the revenue cycle since it is included in their field of expertise and thus, leave enough time for the health care staff to do their jobs.
The introduction of HIPAA has been proved to be a challenge for the medical billing field through the recent years. The health care providers are required to send their claims electronically in compliance with the act, in order to receive their payment. The medical billings along with the insurance companies have been affected because