Throughout the past decades, many acts have been passed in support of health information technology and the adaptation of such technology. Two of those acts, the HIPAA (health insurance portability and accountability) Act and the HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act, focus on protecting patient health information and utilizing health information technology. Although these acts bring about many positive changes within the healthcare industry, there are some downsides regarding the implementation of these acts, as there are with many acts that are passed. Both of these acts provide security to patient health information, however, the HITECH Act contributes more to the utilization of the electronic health …show more content…
The HIPAA act is a federal law that requires the creation of national standards to protect patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent/knowledge (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). The HITECH Act was enacted to promote the adaptation and meaningful use of health information technology (The HIPAA Journal, 2023). In regards to the HIPAA Act, some strengths of this act include allowing patients to contribute to their personal medical file, requiring providers to establish a data back-up plan, requiring protection against malicious software, requiring regular audits of the system, and increasing personal privacy in healthcare information and decision-making (Gaille, 2018). On the other hand, some weaknesses of this act include requiring providers to pay fines when violations occur, not allowing patients to sue if a violation of privacy occurs, and not requiring consent for billing (Gaile, 2018). In terms of the HITECH Act, some strengths include utilizing more robust cyber defenses and providing protection for more stakeholders (RSI Security, 2021). Some weaknesses of the HITECH Act include adding complexity and challenges to the other HIPAA rules and initiating greater compliance consequences (RSI Security, 2021). Although these acts serve to improve patient care and health information technology, there are some downsides when discussing
With privacy being of the utmost importance within a medical practice, HIPAA compliance can be a significant legal issue when implementing the AHSI Project into production. HIPAA compliance is a very important legal issue that should be reviewed by the legal team on any project. Encryption is also important as a legal issue, if the software is not encrypted and patient information is not protected, it can be a HIPAA violation as privacy is. Trust as a legal issue involves HIPAA compliance as well as trust in the legal system that CareMount Medical
When examining the case of the State of California against Dr Zhou, we can clearly conclude that the HIPAA law of which was convicted of violated is not just words written on paper to buy patients' confidence, it is meaningful law set in place to protect patient privacy and any ones violating this law, regardless of your position in the health care field can be persecuted punished for violating the law, even in the absence damages evidence resulting from the violation of the law. The purpose of this post is to discuss the case of the State of California against the physician, Dr Huping Zhou, in this post I will review the HIPAA law, penalties for violation of the law and why I felt that Doctor Zhou was very fortunate for his punishments four
When examining the case of the State of California against Dr Huping Zhou, we can conclude that the HIPAA law is a meaningful law set in place to protect patients’ privacy, and any one violating this law, regardless of your position in the health care field can be persecuted, punished for violating the law, even in the absence damages evidence resulting from the violation of the law. The purpose of this post is to discuss the case of the State of California against the physician, Dr Huping Zhou. In this post, I will review the HIPAA law, the penalties for violation of the law and why I feel that Doctor Zhou was very fortunate to receve the punishments four months in prison and just $2000 in fine. As a physician, a researcher of UCLA School
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act also known as HIPAA has set a national standard for the handling of electronically stored medical records. Medical confidentiality protects conversations between a patient and his or her doctor from being used against the patient in court. It is a part of the rules of evidence in many common law jurisdictions. The penalties for violating HIPPA are based on the level of negligence and can range from $100 to $50,000 per violation or per record, with a maximum of $1.5 million per year. Violations can also carry criminal charges that can result in jail time.
HIPAA Summary In 2009, the Congress created an act called Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). It is designed when people became concern about his or her personal information being stolen. With the media growing every day, it has become easier for people to hack into computer take identities and putting others at risk. The federal government made HIPAA way to reduce company’s downfalls and financial crisis due to theft.
The first article was a summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. In the article, there was an introduction on what HIPAA meant and its importance. First off, HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and it is a disclosure of patient information so that it is protected from unknown individuals and to assure that health providers abide by the privacy rule. Some key facts about HIPAA were, who was covered, what information is protected, and administrative requirements. Noncompliance and criminal penalties were some of the critical issues found in the article.
HIPPA Breaches A Common Legal Issue in Healthcare When it pertains to patient health information discretion is paramount. Protecting patients from threats that could endanger their rights is essential and the primary reason for safeguarding their personal information is to secure the interest of the individuals who are entrusting the organization with their information. There are however breaches to individuals’ private health information. In the healthcare field one common legal issue is HIPPA and data breaches.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a vital part of the health care industry’s day to day business. HIPAAs procedures define how healthcare companies receive and handle their clients’ health care information. HIPAA helps to protect the patient’s personal information through confidentiality and security procedures while being transferred, handled or shared with other healthcare providers (Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Rules, 2013). When a patient’s privacy is not regulated, third parties could buy and sell the information without the patients’ authorization. With HIPAA being in place, it prevents healthcare employees from divulging any patient information they
Regulations and Implementations The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is legislation passed in 1996 that safeguards the rights of employees and their families as it relates to their health insurance coverage whenever they transition or lose employment (Health IT.gov, 2016). The law required national guidelines and standards be developed concerning electronic health care exchanges as well as identifiers being assigned to providers, health insurance benefits, and employers to be recognized nationally (Health IT.gov, 2016). The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was implemented in 2009 granting Health and Human Services (HHS) the control over creating programs to enhance efficacy, safety, and overall quality of health care via health information technology (IT) with a focus on privacy and security during electronic health data interfacing (Health IT. gov, 2016).
Confidentiality and data breaches are a few of the main concerns, as many providers become neglectful when sharing patient electronic health information. Current use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) has proven to be helpful for hospitals and independent medical practice to provide efficient care for patients. Balestra reports that using computers to maintain patient health records and care reduces errors, and advances in health information technology are saving lives and reducing cost (Balestra, 2017). As technology advances EHR are going to continue to be the main method of record keeping among medical providers. Therefore, staff and medical providers need to be trained on how to properly share patients EHR safely and in a secure form in order to maintain patient confidentiality.
The goals of HIPAA are to ensure medical coverage scope for workers and their families when they change or lose their employments and to secure wellbeing information trustworthiness, classification, and accessibility. The objectives are also to enhance our health care framework by making it more proficient, less difficult, and less
HIPAA’s existence constituted as a necessary health care reform. This particular healthcare reform empowered patients by giving them more control and say over the handling of medical records. The HIPAA law also reshaped how health care providers handled patients’ medical records, especially concerning patient privacy (IHS, n.d.). Under the HIPAA law, the privacy rule includes the “national standards” that health care organizations must
HIPAA is an establishment foundation of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that provides the protection of a patient’s healthcare data. HIPAA applies two requirements, which are covered entities that provided individuals treatment, payment, and operations in healthcare. Business associates provides access to the patient’s information and provides support in treatment, payment or operation as well. HIPAA privacy rule must protect health data information that is being created, received, maintain or is being transmitted electronically. Although HIPAA standards are required to provide security and protection of medical files, HIPAA privacy rule and security rule are being violated.
Without national standards and discretion, patients would be an open book with little to no privacy, therefore losing patients and their trust to healthcare. HIPAA fights for the rights of patients and notably limits the number of persons knowing this information. Particularly, this act creates a framework with the government to regulate and shape the future of
All healthcare facilities have the duty to protect their patient’s health information. This is ensured through the Health Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Health and Human Services (HHS), 2015). When HIPAA is violated, there are civil and criminal penalties that will be charged against the offender (American Medical Association (AMA), n.d.). The purpose of this post is to discuss HIPAA laws and penalties. I will also discuss the charges pressed against Dr. Zhou for violating HIPAA laws.