Everything You Need to Know About HIPAA

Given the high degree of priority that is currently assigned to protecting a patient’s sensitive medical information, it may come as a surprise to learn that HIPAA – the act that cemented the importance of patient privacy into law – wasn’t enacted until 1996. Ever since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was signed into law, though, healthcare organizations and providers have had to carefully follow its exacting standards. While staying on the right side of HIPAA standards is undoubtedly a hassle at times, the protections that HIPAA provides are well worth the effort. In this article, we will explore what HIPAA is, why it became necessary, and how it works to protect patient privacy.

What is HIPAA?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was signed into law by President Clinton on August 21, 1996. The primary purpose of this act was to create a set of national standards designed to prevent a patient’s healthcare information from being disclosed without their consent.

However, the act itself did not create these standards. Instead, that responsibility fell to the US Department of Health and Human Services. The “Privacy Rule” was one of the first such standards that the US Department of Health and Human Services enacted. This rule created a category of information called Protected Health Information (PHI) and defined such information as “any information held by a covered entity which concerns health status, the provision of healthcare, or payment for healthcare that can be linked to an individual”.

Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, healthcare providers would be required to obtain consent from a patient before using their PHI for marketing, fundraising, or research purposes in addition to obtaining consent before sharing their PHI with any other outside party. While the US Department of Health and Human Services went on to establish a range of rules and standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the HIPAA Privacy Rule remains the most well-known and impactful of these standards.

The Importance of HIPAA

Even before the HIPAA Privacy Rule was enacted, most healthcare providers had little incentive to go around sharing their patients’ sensitive medical information with the outside world. However, they also had little incentive to put in place the necessary safeguards to prevent that information from being compromised, whether by intentional or unintentional means. When HIPAA was enforced, it created a strong incentive for healthcare providers to put such safeguards into place. Any provider that fails to abide by the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s national standards is now subject to fines as well as lawsuits and a potential loss of licensure.

HIPAA also works to allow patients to take a more active role in their own healthcare by requiring healthcare organizations to release a patient’s medical records to them upon request. Before HIPAA, healthcare organizations were under no such obligation to do so, making it much more difficult for patients to make their own healthcare decisions such as the decision to switch providers.

HIPAA has required providers and healthcare organizations to be much more careful about their protection of a patient’s private medical data. While following the standards that HIPAA demands can be cumbersome at times for providers and healthcare professionals, the important protections and privileges that HIPAA provides to patients are too beneficial to ignore.

Ensure HIPAA Compliance With Help From Bikham Healthcare

One of the most important elements when it comes to remaining compliant with HIPPA’s numerous standards is excellent record-keeping. At Bikham Healthcare, helping healthcare practices remain HIPAA-compliant via innovative software solutions and proven best practices is just one of the many services that we are proud to provide. To learn more about how Bikham Healthcare can help your healthcare organization modernize its record-keeping process in order to ensure HIPAA compliance or to learn more about any of the other industry-leading services that we provide, be sure to contact us today.

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