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HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA Policies And Procedures

by Dina Kayed

HIPAA regulations were established to guarantee greater confidentiality on the part of medical staff when dealing with private medical information. This confidentiality now includes all medical administrative operations such as money transactions, healthcare claims and other important issues such as eligibility for benefits. These rules were laid down to ensure that patients are accorded the privacy they require, and that medical staff understand their limits regarding how much information they are entitled to know. It is a common myth that all information must be protected completely. However, all "individually identifiable" information needs to be handled carefully under HIPAA. This is information that describes a specific person's records. When the information is handled as anonymous, however, it may be used for demographic studies, fundraising, and similar approved activities.

Understanding HIPAA Policies

The first set of HIPAA regulations is intended to help patients understand their rights. They have the right to obtain a copy of their medical records, for example. They also have the right to know who has access to this personal information and why. Other rights include the right to ask for changes in records if necessary, and to be informed of any developments on a certain health issue if the patient wishes to.

These regulations and laws were established in the first place to protect the privacy of all patients against fraud and prying eyes. They can also protect the individual against medical insurance discrimination. HIPAA provides patients with the opportunity to get the medical care they deserve.

The second set of rules was created to provide administrators with operational guidelines to protect individuals receiving healthcare. HIPAA set limits to how much knowledge healthcare workers are allowed to have access to. It also teaches them how to deal with patients' health information correctly, whether it's oral, committed to paper or filed electronically. These regulations also protect healthcare workers from lawsuits that arose in the past when a patient felt his information secrecy had been breached.

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