The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996: Enforcement and Impact on Healthcare Today

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996:

Enforcement and Impact on Healthcare Today

The U.S. Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996 to safeguard and develop standards for the electronic transmission of health information (“HIPAA Act of 1996,” 2006). Standards known as the Privacy Rule and the Security Rule were formulated to help achieve this goal, and to ensure the privacy of individually identified health information (“Summary of HIPAA,” 2003). HIPAA’s Privacy Rule attempts to provide protection for protected health information by employing specific directives for its use and disclosure. The Security Rule specifically governs the security of electronically stored health information, and aims to do so by the same means the Privacy Law uses. The HIPAA act also gives patients more control over their own health information, as well as determines obligatory provisions for healthcare facilities and professionals (“HIPAA Act of 1996,” 2006). Additionally, the implementation of the HIPAA act has effected healthcare costs. Because HIPAA compliance has become so important, there has been extra spending for the development of pamphlets and handouts as well as additional education tools used to explain the piece of healthcare legislation (Harman, 2005).

Enforcement of HIPAA compliance regulations in healthcare is executed through a complaint process whereby patients inform the Department of Human Health and Services (HHS) of possible infringements (Tomes, 2007). If a patient suspects that their privacy has been jeopardized, he or she may file a complaint. Following an investigation, if it is discovered that a HIPAA violation has in fact occurred, then the HHS will notify the entity specified in the patient’s complaint. Upon being informed of a HIPAA non-compliance violation, if the entity does not take adequate measures to remedy the situation, then the HHS, has the jurisdiction to impose monetary...