HIPAA Violation Paper

In the article I had found, a Virginia Riverside Hospital employee had accessed Social

Security Numbers and Electronic Medical Records of 919 patients from September 2009 through

October 2013. The violation was not revealed until November 1st, when the hospital had done a

company inspection. The employee had been fired as well as a $50,000 fine per HIPAA violation

with an additional $10,000 with each violation.

The article made it very clear that you have to respect the fact that someone wants their

information secured. It is also very apparent that if you do choose to disrespect someone’s

wishes, the fines for your actions are incredibly high. It is also discussed how the HIPAA rules

are developing and improving, so the possibility

of the fines becoming higher is something to be

aware of. HIPPA has always been a sensitive topic, meaning it’s something to be taken seriously.

The first incident that led to creating HIPAA is something that I would like to do a little

more research on. In this article, it is a well-respected facility, so it would be assumed that all of

the caring staff would know not to violate HIPAA. After this incident, the entire hospital would

be looked at in a completely negative way. Everything would be taken as something that cannot

be trusted. The community would be looked as something that patients would have to research

very well to make sure that their information would not be tampered with or spread out among

the community.

The article I think is still informative on the HIPAA rule and why it should be followed

and respected. I still think that after reading about an experience like this, it is definitely

something that I will remember the importance of.