Protected Health Care

Jeanette Martin

Charity Booker

HCR 210

9/4/11

Releasing Protected Health Information

There was a time when patients were at ease and had no worries when handing their personal information over to their doctors. The staff would take their personal information and lock it in a filing cabinet or storage room on the facility. However, nowadays most of all doctors’ offices have converted over to electronic filing, which takes individuals information and stores it into a database. This database allows all medical facilities or people associated with the medical facilities to obtain and view anyone’s medical records, which puts individual’s privacy in jeopardy if the wrong person obtains the medical file. In 1996 Congress passed, “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act”. This act was to set a certain standard for transferring health data and was effective April 14, 2003 for most of healthcare.

Due to “The Privacy Act of 1974”, the Government agencies are said to have the right to release patient’s information without their consent, but with certain standards. The Privacy act gave patients some control over what information the federal government could collect and release. Individuals had rights such as to see and have their own copy of information obtained, discover what information was collected, to have limit control over disclosure information to others, to correct information, and find out what information was collected about them. In addition, some of individual’s information could be released to law enforcement without a court order or warrant. Law enforcement can access information through HIPAA. This is very helpful for law enforcement especially when they are in a situation where information could be extremely helpful to that...