HIPAA Research Paper

1288 Words6 Pages
HLTH430 IP#5 Donna Rothmann-Ranels American Intercontinental University Abstract This paper will discuss the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Medical information is protected under this Act. There are two specific rules under that Act. They are the privacy and security rules. Introduction What is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)? HIPAA was endorsed in 1996 to establish consistent methods for electronic data exchange, confidentiality and security of all healthcare related data (What is HIPAA, n.d.). Under…show more content…
The privacy rule covers protected medical information. Protected health information is personally identifiable health information that is held or communicated by a covered entity in any form such as paper, orally or electronically (HIPAA frequently asked questions, n.d.). This identifiable information includes some identifiers such as name, data of birth, address, social security number and other information that can be used to identify a person (HIPAA frequently asked questions, n.d.). The privacy rule applies to a laboratory because any protected health information received by the laboratory is safeguarded. Any information created by the laboratory is also protected. If the information received or created by the laboratory contains a patients name, address, social security number, email address, telephone number, account number, medical record number or health plan beneficiary numbers then this information can be used to identify the patient and is covered under the privacy rule and can not be disclosed (HIPAA privacy policy for optical labs, n.d.). The privacy rule sets standards and safety measures to protect the privacy of personal health information. There are also…show more content…
In today’s world health care organizations are using electronic medical records and other computerized applications to handle medical operations and procedures. The most important objective of the security rule is to safeguard the privacy of a person’s health information. At the same time that information needs to be used by health care professionals to provide quality care for patients. Covered entities need to be able to use this information to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care (Summary of the HIPAA security rule, n.d.). The Security rule guard all identifiable medical information a covered entity receives, creates, transmits or maintains in electronic form (Summary of the HIPAA security rule, n.d.). This is called electronic protected health information. The security rule does not cover any personal health information that is transmitted in writing or orally (Summary of the HIPAA security rule, n.d.). The security rule covers any information received or created by the laboratory in the process of running tests and processing results. Should the information be transmitted to an electronic medical record or sent via email to a physician or patient the information is protected. If the results are given orally they are not protected under the Security
Open Document