HIPAA Violations

Healthcare technology has grown and evolved over time. With the conversion to electronic medical records and the creation of social media just to name a few, ensuring patient privacy is of the utmost importance for healthcare facilities in this day and age. In order for an organization to avoid hefty fines, it is imperative that a healthcare administrator maintains compliance with the standards and regulations associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This paper will provide a summary

“Facebook remains the most popular platform for those using just one social media site—fully 79% of those who use just one site report using Facebook. Most Facebook users are actively engaging with their networks on the site. As opposed to simply reading or viewing content, 65% of Facebook users frequently or sometimes share, post or comment on Facebook” (Duggan, Ellison, Lampe, et al, 2015). As discussed previously, privacy and confidentiality is a right that everyone has no matter what. Therefore, healthcare professional’s privacy and communication cannot be entered and examined however; rules and guidelines have been put into place to manage confidentiality in the healthcare setting. In 2003, these guidelines were manifested and are known as the Privacy Rules, which are controlled by HIPAA. These rules were established to safeguard personal identifiable health data, which include an individual’s date of birth, social security number, address, photographs that may identify the patient, and past and current medical history (U.S Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). HIPAA defines “individually identifiable health information” as information that is a subdivision of health data, including demographic information gathered from an individual and is generated or received by a health care provider, health plan, employer, or health care clearinghouse and connects to the previous, current or future physical or

The law that prohibits unauthorized access of patients charts is HIPAA. HIPPA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. HIPPAS number 1 priority is to keep patients Health Medical Records protected and confidential.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act also known as HIPAA was first signed into law on the federal level in 1996. Since it was signed into law it has had a huge effect on patient’s privacy, healthcare workers and even insurance company’s. “HIPAA is intended to improve efficiency throughout health care and requires that health care providers adhere to standardized national privacy and confidentiality protections.” (OMA p .236). It’s an invaluable tool that has created a standard of compliance across the healthcare field.

Let’s analyze about financial impact of HIPAA violations in healthcare companies and find out how to prevent security breaches. Patients and healthcare facilitators both need to be informed on how to help these companies be protected and be prevented from identity theft. Also, there will be emphasis on what the penalties are in result to violation of HIPAA

Even though hipaa violations are an important standard in preventing many individuals from causing several breaches of information from getting out, it is important to work on a strategies within several health care organizations that will work with the privacy rules regarding violation laws. “Jill Granger & Laura Cataldo (2013) reports When working in the healthcare setting, it is important to consult with the guidelines established by one's institution and to participate in any training programs to insure that the appropriate steps are being taken to maintain privacy. There are also a variety of additional resources available from the federal government and professional organizations to assist in the training process that may be especially

HIPAA (Health Insurance and Portability Act of 1996), outlines rules, regulations and the rights of patients to access their healthcare information such as notifications of privacy practices, copying and viewing medical records, and amendments. This paper explains why confidentiality is important today and discusses recourses patients can use if they believe their privacy has been violated. This paper will also discuss criminal and civil penalties’ that can occur for breaking HIPAA privacy rules.

HIPAA, (Health Insurance and Portability Act of 1996) outlines rules and regulations and the rights of patients to access their healthcare information such as notifications of privacy practices, copying and viewing medical records, and amendments. This paper explains why confidentiality is important today and discusses recourses patients can use if they believe their privacy has been violated. This paper will also discuss criminal and civil penalties’ that can occur for breaking HIPAA privacy rules.

The Health Insurance and Portability Act of 1996, known by the acronym HIPAA, is a civil rights law that was passed to give patients important rights and protections in regards to their protected health information (Herold, R., and Beaver, K, 2014). This federal law was imposed upon all healthcare organizations and affects hospitals, physician practices, health insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, employers, labs, as well as other providers. All patients should now have a right to their PHI -Protected Health Information- under HIPAA which include the right to receive a notice of privacy practices, to copy and view information in their medical record, request amendments to their medical record, receive an accounting of disclosures, request communication about medical matters, restrict the use and disclosure of their medical record, and to file a complaint for

Individuals that believe that their privacy or someone else’s privacy was violated in regards to the HIPAA law can file a complaint. According the Department of Health and Human Services, the complaints will be handled by the Office of Civil Rights. According to the HHS website, a complaint can be filed in writing, either electronically or on paper by mail, fax, or email. The name of the organization and the act believed violated the privacy requirement needs to be include in the complaint (US Department of HHS). The complaint must be filed within 180 days of the believed act, and HIPAA law prohibits retaliation from an organization because someone filed a complaint. As outlined by the HHS website enforcement is made after a complaint was

According to Iron Mountain (2015), failing to dispose of patient medical records securely is a HIPAA violation of unwilling negligence, which is another legal issue in scheduling patient appointments. When a patient declines an appointment or does not respond to requests to call the office to schedule the appointment, the medical records must be securely disposed of, or shredded. For example, when a referring PCP or specialist office calls and schedules an appointment, on behalf of the patient, during the initial phone call, the patient may not be aware of the referral. Furthermore, the patient may not be available on the date and time selected by the referring office. Consequently, when the patient contacts scheduling to inquire about

In the present culture of the United States, social media has had a major impact in American society. It has a profound influence and intertwined itself in almost every aspect of the average American’s life. It ranges from providing updates of location of a person(s), events, and sharing personal moments. Even different industries are utilizing social media as a platform for communication, information, and sales mediums. One industry, the health care field has seen a rise in the utilization of social media. For instance, an emerging population of physicians are using social media apps such as Snap Chat, Facebook, and YouTube to educate, display surgical, and medical procedures while being performed. In contrast, as there are positive aspects of utilizing social media, a negative trait of social media is invading and exposing individual’s privacy. As of recent, a New York licensed nurse had to surrender her nursing license and sentenced to 3 years of probation for “moral unfitness in the practice (Bowerman, 2016).” She took photos with her phone of two unconscious male patient’s genitalia and shared them with coworkers. This has become an increasing issue and as the utilization of social media in healthcare is increasing, many ethical issues are developing. For instance, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was passed for the adoption of a national standard for electronic health care transactions and code sets, unique health identifiers,

In 1996, a set of federal regulations known as HIPPA was established. HIPPA provided comprehensive protection and guidance regarding how patient information can be used, stored, disclosed and maintained by healthcare providers (Alexander et al., 2018). The HIPPA law addressed the privacy and security of personal health information, continuation of health insurance coverage for employed people, and reduction in Medicare fraud and abuse (Alexander et al., 2018). The segment of HIPAA receiving the most public attention was the privacy and security regulations section. The Department of Health and Human Services developed privacy rules focusing on the protection of patient health information communicated in any manner: verbal, paper, visual, or

The department of Health and Human Services protects and guides the health and well being of individuals here in America (Thacker, 2014). They fulfill these duties providing Americans with adequate and efficient health and human services and monitoring services designed to increase the efficiency of care in the health system (Thacker, 2014). One of the services being monitored by the department of Health and Human Services is the electronic health record system, which carries private and vital information of patient’s health record enabling all eligible participating health workers access to these records (Thacker, 2014). A breach of the protective health information of patients in a health organization creates chaos as these are against the health insurance portability and accountability (HIPAA) law (Thacker, 2014). Hence, measure will have to be put in place to determine what caused the breach and how to rectify it to ensure the breach never happens again (Thacker, 2014).

At the same time, health care organizations find challenges in adopting social media. Hospital and medical practices are risk adverse and generally cautious about new technology trends without clear value. There are questions about whether social media use by hospital employees is a waste of time, or even worse, presents risks of violating HIPAA or leaking proprietary information. Hospital IT departments are concerned about security risks, such as the use of tinyurl.com, which can mask malicious Web sites. Privacy concerns, particularly the vulnerability of social media accounts, are also cited as a reason to avoid social media. (John Sharp 2010).