'History of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Essay\r'

'In 1996, wellness Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was en lay outed to improve availability and continuity of wellness insurance coverage, combat takeoff and abuse in wellness care delivery, let access to long term care service and simplify administration of health insurance by standardizing education deputize between healthcare organizations. This act primarily protects the privacy and aegis of an leverive(prenominal)’s health study in response to the rapid grown of health insurance and entropy systems (Questions and Answers on HIPAA).\r\nTransmission standards and code sets were included in HIPAA to standardize health-related randomness and to facilitate faster electronic selective information interchange (EDI) which allows exchange of information from computer to computer. The legal proceeding and code set standards apply to patient-identifiable health information transmitted electronically. Without the need for human involvement or inte rvention to complete the process, the practitioner will be able to cut costs by eliminating tierce party clearing houses, administrators or billing go (Kibbe, 2001, p. 8).\r\nWith the standardized information exchange, availability of patient information electronically can be obtained with ease. To protect the security and confidentiality of this information, Privacy Rule was issued to implement the requirement of HIPAA. The major(ip) goal of the privacy rule is to assure that an individual’s health information is protected from illegitimate access and disclosure while still allowing the exchange of information through EDI to facilitate payments and to provide naughty quality health care.\r\nIndividually identifiable health information, called protected wellness Information (PHI) is any information that contains the individual’s past, put forward or rising physical or mental health, provision of health care to the individual, and the payment of such in the past , present or future. It is the Office for well-behaved Rights’ (OCR) responsibility to discipline that the Privacy Rule is enforced and implemented with respect to voluntary compliance activities and civil money penalties (Office of urbane Rights, 2003).\r\nThere are some instances, however, when disclosure of PHI is demand or permitted. Covered entities (health care providers, clearing houses, etc. ) may disclose protected health information to the public health authorities when public health and safety are at risk. This happens when an individual undertake a communicable disease that raises public concern.\r\nIf an employee develop a work-related illness or injury and the employer requests for the employee’s PHI in compliance with the Occupational Safety and health Administration (OSHA) and other similar state law, the cover entities may release information about the individual. Likewise, information for treatment procedures requiring historical information a nd provided for by several(prenominal) health care services is granted to the health service providers, including consultations and referrals between providers regarding a patient.\r\nProtected Health Information of abused, neglected or domestic forcefulness victims may also be disclosed to suppress government authorities (such as reporting hazard domestic abuse to social welfare agencies) as long as the individual gives consent to disclosure, or the disclosure is authorized by law (Office of Civil Rights, 2003). The passage and implementation of HIPAA definitely improved the conditions of health care services. Uniform transmission and code sets standards paved the musical mode for more efficient processing system, standardizing the way physicians, health insurance and health care providers continue and exchange information.\r\nWith increased efficiency, costs are decreased. As Kibbe (2001) puts it in his article, â€Å"If there’s a silver-tongued lining to the HIPAA regulations, it’s here. These standards can save your confide time and money. ” Although accessibility of information is one realise of HIPAA, Privacy Rule protects the individuals from unauthorized disclosure of their Protected Health Information ensuring confidentiality and security of data change in the process.\r\n'