...US Department of Health and Human Services Information Security Program Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Compliance Guide September 14, 2005 Page i Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Compliance Guide US Department of Health and Human Services Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................... i Preface.........................................................................................................iii Document Change History ............................................................................iv 1. Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2. 2.1 Purpose ........................................................................................... 1 Background...................................................................................... 1 Scope.............................................................................................. 2 Document Organization ..................................................................... 4 HIPAA Administrative Simplification Requirements ........................... 5 General Overview ............................................................................. 5 2.1.1 HIPAA Administrative Simplification Goals and Objectives ............. 5 2.1.2 HIPAA Definitions ................................................
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...HIPPA: Security and Privacy Audits | MIS565 | | | | Abstract Companies who work with patient health care information are required to comply with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). As such, the HHS rolled out a new audit initiative to assess compliance across the nation with the privacy and security standards for protected health information This paper focus on how the audit program of HIPPA works, what the covered entity can do to prepare for the audit, and what happens once the audit is complete. Introduction Ever since implementation of the HIPAA privacy and security standards, entities have been required to establish and maintain a variety of compliance mechanisms, including written policies and procedures, training of responsible workforce members, business associate agreements, relevant notices to patients or plan participants, and health plan document amendments. Until now, most compliance actions have been complaint-driven investigations arising from alleged violations of the HIPAA privacy or security standards (Arant, 2011). Pursuant to the HITECH Act, a more robust enforcement program was created to make a more ???? The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) administers HIPAA (including the HITECH amendments) by investigating complaints, enforcing rights, promulgating regulations, developing policy and providing...
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...background and history on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Following the background will be details about issues that are address within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The purpose of this paper is to provide a foundation with providing some information about HIPAA. Background The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by Congress in 1996 in response to several issues facing health care coverage, privacy, security and fraud in the United States (ALL THINGS MEDICAL BILLING, 2011, para. 2). Before HIPAA, rules and regulations varied by state, there was no real consistency. Also, there was confusion as to which regulations were applicable and to whom. Did the rules apply in the states where the organization was doing business or where the organization was based? There was also no uniformity between state and federal requirements (ALL THINGS MEDICAL BILLING, 2011, para. 3). With regard to privacy, there were numerous uncoordinated federal acts which addressed privacy in some form. Prior to HIPAA, there was no standard authority for enforcement of fraud and abuse that applied to state and federal health care programs (ALL THINGS MEDICAL BILLING, 2011, para. 4). Congress recognized the increased use of electronic technology, the potential for abuse and the need to establish security. We all have heard news stories about electronic information being lost, stolen...
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...HIPAA COW Risk Analysis & Risk Management Toolkit Networking Group Guide for the HIPAA COW Risk Analysis & Risk Management Toolkit Disclaimers This Guide and the HIPAA COW Risk Analysis & Risk Management Toolkit (Toolkit) documents are Copyright by the HIPAA Collaborative of Wisconsin (“HIPAA COW”). They may be freely redistributed in their entirety provided that this copyright notice is not removed. When information from this document is used, HIPAA COW shall be referenced as a resource. They may not be sold for profit or used in commercial documents without the written permission of the copyright holder. This Guide and the Toolkit documents are provided “as is” without any express or implied warranty. This Guide and the Toolkit documents are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. If you require legal advice, you should consult with an attorney. Unless otherwise noted, HIPAA COW has not addressed all state pre-emption issues related to this Guide and the Toolkit documents. Therefore, these documents may need to be modified in order to comply with Wisconsin/State law. The Toolkit provides an example HIPAA Security Risk Assessment and documents to support completing a Risk Analysis and Risk Mitigation Implementation Plan. While it covers a broad spectrum of the requirements under the HIPAA Security Rule and HITECH, it may not cover all measures needed to secure your patients’ electronic protected health information (ePHI). It...
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..."Does the EMR actually protect patient privacy and what are the regulatory ramifications in the US on EMR implementation?” Table of Contents: INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW ANALYSIS I. MEDICAL RECORDS THEN AND NOW A. Paper-Based Medical Records VS. Electronic Medical Records B. Benefits, Potential Problems and Cost of the EMR II. HEALTH CARE PRIVACY LAW A. HIPAA 1.What is HIPAA? 2. HIPPA Privacy & Security B. HIPAA and EMR III. CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO PROTECT PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY/ PRIVACY? A. Why Should Patient Privacy Be Afforded Privacy Protection Regulation? B. Patient Privacy Within EMR IV. SPANNING THE MILES Intranet & Extranet Software & IM/IT CONCLUSION GLOSSARY REFERENCES Introduction: Healthcare companies all over the world are slowly recognizing the benefits on an EMR. Although EMR’s were implemented over 30 years ago but as of 2006 fewer than 10% of hospitals were utilizing the system. In 2009 the he U.S. Department of Health and Human Services enacted a privacy rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in an attempt to protect the privacy of patients medical records. But one question still arises; “Does the EMR actually protect patient privacy and what are the regulatory ramifications in the US on EMR implementation?” In this paper I will address EMR, patient privacy and the regulatory ramifications of EMR implementation. Literature Review The literature shows that there is...
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...Privacy Rules 3 critical areas of HIPAA for a training session of your staff Privacy Rules The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued the Privacy Rule to implement the requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). 1 The Privacy Rule standards address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information—called “protected health information” by organizations subject to the Privacy Rule — called “covered entities,” as well as standards for individuals' privacy rights to understand and control how their health information is used. A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to assure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public's health and well being. Who is Covered by the Privacy Rule The Privacy Rule, as well as all the Administrative Simplification rules, apply to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and to any health care provider who transmits health information in electronic form in connection with transactions for which the Secretary of HHS has adopted standards under HIPAA Health Plans. Individual and group plans that provide or pay the cost of medical care are covered entities.4 Health plans include health, dental, vision, and prescription drug insurers, health maintenance organizations (“HMOs”), Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare+Choice and Medicare supplement...
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...supposed to comply with HIPAA privacy and security rule while using social media in order to evade lawsuits as a result of disclosing patient’s information on social media platforms. Based on Rienton (2013) examples, it...
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...analysis on how these laws affect the hospital, clinic or insurer. This paper also includes how the population has little access to health care and an understanding of how HIPPA works and the role that it plays in the health care field. Healthcare The purpose of regulations is the constant need to balance the objectives of enhancing the quality, expanding access, and controlling costs in healthcare. Regulation plays a major role in the healthcare industry and healthcare insurance coverage. Through various regulatory bodies, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) protects the public from a number of health risks and provides programs for public health and welfare. Together, these regulatory agencies protect and regulate public health at every level ( Fierce Healthcare, 2014, para. 1). When it comes to health care there are many agencies that play a role in the management of the health care industry such as, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) which deals with most of the regulations that deal directly to the healthcare system, they also “provides government subsidized medical coverage through a number of programs: Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children’s Health Insurance program (SCHIP)” (Fierce Healthcare, 2014, para. 2). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as we know is a major part of the regulation, this agency improves efficiency and effectiveness in the healthcare field; HIPAA protects the privacy and security of patient...
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...University of Phoenix Administrative Ethics Paper Administrative ethical issues occur in health care today such as patient privacy, confidentiality or HIPAA. It is best to resolve this type of issue because patient privacy in health care is very important. These policies are designed to protect the rights of patients by making sure personal information of the patient is not disclosed in any way. Protecting a patient’s privacy by way of disclosing personal information and is not to be released without personal formal consent. Also, of employees discussing patient information on the job to people with no knowledge of the patient or even off the job. Many health care organizations enforce privacy policies such as HIPAA and confidentiality although all employees do not abide by such policies. It is being found that more frequently that people from these health care organizations are breaking these policies and their must be changes to provide patients with protection. Administrative ethical issues of the HIPAA Policy within health care organizations must make necessary changes to appropriately protect the rights of patients. The issue at hand is that of health care organizations properly protecting the rights of their patients. The article that will be discussed in this paper is that of OCR issues proposed Modifications to HIPAA Privacy and Security settings (Frank Irving, 2004). The population that is affected by it most has been impacted by such ethical issues brought upon...
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...confidentiality of information on patients. Confidential information is private or privileged information, and should be that luxury. In health care, the confidential information that is stored into an information system, such as a patient health record, will need the ethical awareness, knowledge, and decision making skills of managing confidential information is the administrator’s responsibility. Managing confidential records will require the education of all staff within the facility. This would be the education on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. HIPAA and HITECH laws will be mentioned in this report as well as, an article from a local news station on a breach of patient confidential records, the issue and the impact is had on the population, the facts that are used to support the article and its solution, the ethical and legal issues for the administrative issue, the managerial responsibilities that are related to the administrative ethical issues, and the proposed solutions. Loma Linda University Medical Center Breach A local news station had reported a breach of patient records on December 29, 2011. The worker at the Loma Linda University Medical Center had 1,336 patient medical records that he took home, which included names, birth dates, home or work addresses,...
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...and Regulatory Considerations for Proposed EHR Technology Solution Part 1 KAREO EHR is the proposed solution for UMUC family clinic. It’s benefits include being free for initial start-up, provides secure cloud-based technology and meets the highest standards for maintaining data confidentiality and secure sharing of information (Kareo, n/d). The recommended hardware for UMUC were 1 Desktop Macintosh: Intel or PowerPC G5 with 2GB or more of RAM, 3 iPad Air laptop for examination rooms, 5 Mbps or greater, Firefox 28 or higher on Mac OS X, Apple iOS 5/6 Communications will come from local phone and internet provider (e.g. Verizon or Comcast) both of the options provide high speed service. KAREO also offers Dr. Martin and his staff with a support staff for any issues pertaining to the program. It will also be vital that Dr. Martin, Vivian and Manuella are up to speed and trained equally on the hardware and software. With all member of this team being trained, it will ensure that it can improve the patient visit process currently at the clinic, in addition to the investment of patient check-in kiosk which can alleviate the 1-2 wait times also allowing the nurses to spend more time prepping rooms, attending to patients and less time at the front desk....
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...Administrative ethics is essential to developing a rewarding compensation plan that produces strategies within a policy effectively to execute a plan successfully within an organization. An example of this is the Affirmative Action of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO). In this paper the reading will discuss EEO and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), and the impact it has on the population as a whole, it is meant to protect the general public, promote the common good when dealing with health care and review arguments used to support solutions as well as review ethical, and legal issues that need to be reported regarding administrative issues. I will also address managerial responsibilities related to administrative ethical issues as well as identify a proposed solution. The EEO according to the Unites States Department of Labor (2009) is an independent federal agency that was developed to promote equal opportunity within an organization through administrative and judicial enforcement of federal civil rights laws through technical assistance as well as education to the working public on how to utilize the program. EEO laws were also created to allow Human Resources (HR) professionals the ability to hire qualified staff members through the process of conducting in depth interviews of applicants before selecting the best qualified individual to fit the job requirements without discriminating any possible candidates that are applying for said position. Affirmative...
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...A Literature Review “Privacy and Health Information Technology” Deborah Jones Dr. Udoh Udom Health Information Systems HAS 520 12/06/10 Introduction The increased use of health information technology (Health IT) is a common element of privacy of medical information. Proponents hope that the increased use of health IT will improve health outcomes for individual patients by facilitating the delivery of evidence-based care and reducing medical errors. Additionally, proponents hope that increasing information sharing among providers will better coordinate care within and across health care settings. Health IT facilitates the creation of a comprehensive health record that can move with an individual over his or her lifetime, in contrast to the fragmented records that exist today. Further, health IT is promoted as a critical tool for improving population health by allowing for the more efficient gathering of data regarding the effectiveness of certain treatments. Finally, health IT is also expected to help decrease health costs by reducing the duplication of services and the delivery of unnecessary or inappropriate care. This paper examines some of the “gaps” in privacy protections that arise out of the current federal health privacy standard, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, the main federal law which governs the use and disclosure of health information. Additionally, it puts forth a range of possible solutions, accompanied by...
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...confidentiality, privacy, accuracy, and accountability. These aspects are highlighted in this exercise, referencing the needed addendum of a shadow chart policy along with staffing educational requirements in regard to information security. Likewise, the address will recognize the laws and how they shape policy in healthcare. Legislative and Legal Systems As a rule, shadow charts should contain copies of information from a patient’s primary chart. In some cases, the shadow chart may contain original information meant for the patient’s primary records. This causes the patient health record to be incomplete or at least not up to date. The need for seamless and routine reconciliation is clearly present. As with all patient health records, appropriate authorization is critical with shadow charts. Authorizations should be granted to appropriate staff, as well as identical release of information procedure followed by the H.I.M. Department. IT Staff and Security The Information Technology staff is to have entry orientation on information security, followed by documented annual reeducation. Along with all education should be the reminder of the legal and facility ramification of policy violation. Standard security work place practices should be in place to help safeguard patient information. IT security Practices Firewall | Encryption of data | Appropriate staff access | Anti-spyware | Secured workstations | No sharing of passwords | Legal Issues of Privacy In discussion...
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...electronic medical records has been an advantage to the current U.S health care industry and its people. By using this system, drug interaction warnings, prescription refill notifications and annual screening reminders are what save our population today. In order for an organization to decide whether to implement this system or not, management must review the risks and benefits that come along with this. The cost of applying EMR’s is considerably high and is categorized as being a risk for a company. Not only for the upgrade in technological machinery, but also in the training of health care professionals. Managers must set aside a budget specifically for the implementation of equipment as well as the hours it takes to educate proper staff on how to make use of it effectively. This is all without an assurance as to whether this new medical technology will be a success with its employees and patient’s. It could either benefit the company by successfully bringing in more patients’, which increases profit, or it could be a detrimental loss in both aspects. With technology there’s...
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