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What is HIPAA?
Posted by PHC | Blog
Signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — or as it is better known ‘HIPAA’ — is a comprehensive federal law that imposes a number of important rules and regulations on health care providers and other companies that operate with the industry.
For patients, one of the most important things that HIPAA does is to standardize the processing of their electronic health records and to implement key legal protections regarding health care data. In other words, HIPAA helps to ensure that health care providers keep your medical records confidential.
HIPAA: Understanding the Basics
HIPAA is a complex federal law that covers a wide range of different issues. In fact, large health care providers often have multiple staff members who are devoted solely to HIPAA compliance. Among other things, HIPAA seeks to do the following four things:
- Facilitate the transition of health insurance coverage for people changing jobs;
- Reduce fraud, waste, and abuse within the healthcare industry;
- Put strict standards in place regarding the handling of medical billing records; and
- Require healthcare providers to protect the confidentiality of sensitive health information.
Patients may be most interested in Title II of HIPAA — which is the section of the law that protects health care records and ensures patient privacy. Indeed, for home health care organizations like Personal Health Care, ensuring the security of Protected Health Information (PHI) is paramount.
Know Your Rights Under HIPAA
Under HIPAA, every patient in the United States has important legal rights. If you have received health care treatment, you should know your rights. Specifically, HIPAA gives you the right to:
- Request copies of your own medical records;
- Correct mistakes or errors that you notice within your medical records;
- Ask health providers to limit the information that is shared with other parties;
- Get access to all parties who have seen your records; and
- File a complaint for a HIPAA privacy violation.
Personal Health Care is Strongly Committed to Patient Confidentiality
Our team takes its responsibilities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act very seriously. We are committed to protecting patient information and complying with all aspects of HIPAA and any other relevant state or federal law. We have developed and implemented procedures to make sure patient confidentiality is preserved and that sensitive health information is always handled in the proper manner.
To learn more about this topic, we encourage everyone to read and review the Personal Health Care HIPAA Policy. If you have any specific questions or concerns about HIPAA or a related manner, please do hesitate to give us a call at (610) 933-6130.
We Are Phoenixville’s Premier Home Health Provider
At Personal Health Care, our team is made up of trusted, dedicated home health care professionals. For nearly four decades, we have worked tirelessly to provide exceptional, personalized health services to patients. To schedule a free in-home health care assessment, please contact our team today. Based in Phoenixville, we serve communities all over Southeastern Pennsylvania.
FAQs About What HIPAA Is
What are the primary objectives of HIPAA?
Signed into law in 1996, HIPAA seeks to facilitate the transition of health insurance coverage when changing jobs, reduce healthcare fraud and abuse, set strict standards for medical billing records, and require healthcare providers to keep sensitive medical records confidential.
Which section of HIPAA protects patient privacy, and what rights does it provide?
Title II of HIPAA protects health care records and patient privacy. Under this title, patients have the right to request copies of their medical records, correct errors in their records, limit the sharing of information, see who has accessed their files, and file complaints for privacy violations.
How does Personal Health Care ensure HIPAA compliance and patient privacy?
Personal Health Care maintains protocols to protect Protected Health Information (PHI) and preserve patient confidentiality, strictly complying with HIPAA requirements as well as all relevant state and federal privacy laws across its home health care services.