Hippa and Confidentality

Patient Confidentiality and HIPAA

Tamika Marshall

HPIC/245C

Fundamentals of Information Systems for Health Care

July 21, 2013

University of Phoenix

After three years of making sure they got it correct, the Unites States signed into law HIPAA. Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was developed by The Department of Health and Human

Services. August 21, 1996 changed the way medical professionals conducted patient business forever.

The law is designed to provide privacy standards and to protect patients medical records and other

health information.

HIPAA is broken down into two categories: Health Care Portability and Preventing Healthcare

Fraud & Abuse, Administrative Simplification and Medical Liability Reform.

Health Care Portability protects healthcare coverage for employers who change jobs. It reduces

the risk that an individual will lose health care coverage when changing jobs. It allows workers to

purchase insurance on their own if coverage is lost under an employer.

Privacy rule sets the HIPAA standards for privacy of an individually identifiable person. It is

protected health information. The core of HIPAA privacy rule is protection, use and disclosure of PHI

(Protected Health Information)

The use of PHI means sharing, employing, applying, utilizing and examining information within

the organization. Disclosing is defined as releasing, transferring, provision of access and divulging in any

manner information to outside organizations.

HIPAA allows providers to use health care information for the purpose of TPO. Treatment: for

the sole reason of sharing information in order to care for the patient. Payment: receiving payments for

services provided. Operations: to conduct normal business activities such as quality improvement.

Patients are informed when they sign a form at their first visit. The Notice of Privacy Practices

explains the policies and procedure...