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  • Essay / HIPAA Summary - 1815

    HIPAA SummaryThis document will review the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rules of 1996. The HIPAA Privacy Rules are complex and broad and establish guidelines to tracked by health care providers and other covered entities such as insurance companies and by consumers. HIPAA is very specific in its requirements regarding disclosure of information, but it is not as specific when it comes to how training and policies are developed and delivered within the healthcare industry. This document will explain how HIPAA affects a patient's access to their medical record, how and under what circumstances personal health information may be disclosed to other entities for non-health care purposes, the requirements regarding written privacy policies for covered entities, training requirements. for medical office employees and the consequences of non-compliance with the policy. Patient Rights The first area of ​​concern under HIPAA is the protection of patients' private health care information. However, in protecting patients' rights, HIPAA policies require a certain level of diligence on the part of patients. Every patient has the right to inspect and obtain a copy of his or her medical records and other health information (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). There are a few conditions under which a covered entity may decide not to provide the information to a patient, such as if it believes that providing the information would endanger the patient or someone else. However, generally, records will be provided to the patient within 30 days of the request. This period can be extended by an additional 30 days if the patient receives justification. Patie...... middle of paper ...... Health Information Privacy for Consumers. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.htmlU.S. Department of Health and Social Services. (nd). Understanding HIPAA. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. (May 11, 2005). Staff Privacy Training (HIPAA). Retrieved April 22, 2009 from the Privacy/Data Protection Project: http://privacy.med.miami.edu/glossary/xd_workforce_training.htmWikiAnswers. (nd). What should I do if an employee is not following the HIPAA policy? Retrieved April 23, 2009 from WikiAnswers.com: http://www.wikianswers.com/Q/What_is_required_if_an_employee_doesn't_follow_the_HIPAA_privacy_policy