{"id":14009,"date":"2022-11-02T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adcsolutions.net\/?page_id=14009"},"modified":"2022-11-02T16:57:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T16:57:11","slug":"understanding-hipaa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adcsolutions.net\/understanding-hipaa\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding HIPAA"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Understanding HIPAA<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Laws for the secure and private transfer of individual's medical information.<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The nearly instantaneous flow of information is a defining variable of the information age. Many leading <\/span>companies have established a benchmark of implementing flexible and effective new technologies into <\/span>their business plan, and just now many small businesses have been able to get out ahead of this trend <\/span>and implement their own solutions. While it’s true some companies can use this technology better than <\/span>others, in regards to healthcare information, the seamless flow of information can literally be the difference <\/span>between life and death.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In August of 1996, United States President Bill Clinton, in an effort to promote secure transfer of patient <\/span>information, signed into law the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). At that time, <\/span>HIPAA stated that the Secretary of Health and Human Services had to publicize official standards for the <\/span>electronic exchange, privacy, and security of health-related information. It also stated that the Secretary of <\/span>HHS had the responsibility of issuing regulations if the U.S. Congress didn’t enact privacy and security <\/span>standards by 1999. Three years later, HHS unveiled the official rules.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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HIPAA Privacy Rule<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The HIPAA Privacy Rule, or the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, <\/span>established protocols for many healthcare providers in regards to who has access to patient information. <\/span>The privacy rule applies to health plans, health care agencies, and to any healthcare provider that <\/span>transmits patient information electronically.<\/span><\/p>

Individual and group medical plans that provide or pay the cost of medical care are covered by HIPAA. <\/span>These plans include health, dental, vision, prescription drug insurers, health maintenance organizations <\/span>(HMO), Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare insurance providers.<\/span><\/p>

The following information is protected under HIPAA’s Privacy rule:<\/span><\/p>

\u2022<\/span><\/span>An individual’s complete history of their physical and mental health conditions.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022<\/span><\/span>The treatment or provision the individual has access to.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022<\/span><\/span>An individual’s payment information for said health care.<\/span><\/p>

The Privacy Rule is administered by the Office for Civil Rights.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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HIPAA Security Rule<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The more seamless the transfer of data is, the better it works for business. Unfortunately, there are entities <\/span>out there looking for opportunities to intercept this information for their own, often nefarious, purposes. No <\/span>where is data more personal, than in the health care industry.<\/span><\/p>

HIPAA’s Security Rule, or Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information, <\/span>specifies a series of administered, physical, and technical safeguards for covered parties to guarantee the <\/span>integrity, real-time availability, and confidentiality of protected electronic healthcare information.<\/span><\/p>

The Security Rule is administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Electronic Transaction & Code Sets Standards<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The standardization of electronic transactions is important for the efficiency of the care being provided to <\/span>patients. With the standardization rules set forth by HIPAA, each health care provider has to adhere to the <\/span>same set of protocols as other providers do to ensure the transferred financial and medical information is <\/span>easily deciphered by the health care provider. HIPAA sets a standard and the operating rules for electronic <\/span>funds transfer (EFT) and electronic remittance advice (ERA) and attachments for claims.<\/span><\/p>

This section of HIPAA is administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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National Identifier Requirements<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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As a part of the HIPAA law, health care providers are mandated to use unique Health Plan Identifiers <\/span>(HPID). These are identifying numbers assigned to specific medical transactions. For example, the <\/span>numeric code for an allergy test is the same from one provider to another. This level of standardization <\/span>allows providers to avoid the pitfalls that come with deciphering what care is to be provided as well as the <\/span>act of billing the services that have been received.<\/span><\/p>

Like the transaction code standardization, the identifiers are administered by the Centers for Medicare and <\/span>Medicaid Services.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Enforcement & Penalties<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Every law needs a ruling entity. HIPAA is no different. In order rules of the HIPAA law to work, the <\/span>Enforcement Rule is in place for dedicated checks and balances. Currently the Centers for Medicare and <\/span>Medicaid Services enforces the HIPAA Security Rule and the Rules covering the standardization of <\/span>information, while the Privacy concern is handled by The Office of Civil Rights.<\/span><\/p>

To date, the implementation of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act standards have <\/span>substantially increased the use of electronic data interchange within the medical industry. Provisions in <\/span>play under the Affordable Care Act of 2010 will increase these electronic interchanges and include further <\/span>requirements to take into account the basics of the initial act.<\/span><\/p>

Additionally, as a part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, health plans will be required to certify their <\/span>compliance. The Act provides for crippling penalties for failures to certify or comply with the new standards <\/span>and operating rules. These penalties include:<\/span><\/p>

Penalties for General Violations of HIPAA:<\/span><\/p>

\u2022<\/span><\/span>Each violation: A $100 penalty per violation, with no more than $25,000 in one year for all violations <\/span>of identical requirements.<\/span><\/p>

Penalties for the Wrongful Disclosure of Individually Identifiable Health Information:<\/span><\/p>

\u2022<\/span><\/span>For wrongful disclosure: $50,000 penalty, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022<\/span><\/span>For wrongful disclosure made under false pretenses: $100,000 penalty, imprisonment for not more <\/span>than five years, or both.<\/span><\/p>

\u2022<\/span><\/span>For wrongful disclosure made with the intent to sell information: $250,000 penalty, imprisonment of <\/span>not more than 10 years, or both.<\/span><\/p>

As well as the penalties listed above, covered entities that fail to comply with HIPAA regulations will likely <\/span>be subject to a loss of credibility, which will likely result in the loss of public trust and revenue.<\/span><\/p>

For more information about HIPAA or our role in your data security, call us today at (206) 709-9556. We <\/span>can clarify about the specifics for HIPAA compliance and present secure data transfers for your medical <\/span>practice.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Understanding HIPAA Laws for the secure and private transfer of individual’s medical information. The nearly instantaneous flow of information is a defining variable of the information age. Many leading companies have established a benchmark of implementing flexible and effective new technologies into their business plan, and just now many small businesses have been able to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\nADC Solutions | IT services | Oklahoma City<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/adcsolutions.net\/understanding-hipaa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ADC Solutions | IT services | Oklahoma City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understanding HIPAA Laws for the secure and private transfer of individual’s medical information. 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