Healthcare Laws And Regulations

612 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Strengths and weaknesses of hipaa

The healthcare industry has a number of laws and regulations that govern the operations and confidentiality of health information on a state and federal level. To better comprehend the laws and regulations of the healthcare industry, we first need to understand law terminology and a couple key terms in the law field to get an outline of what law actually is. A law is a rule of conduct passed by a legislative body that is enforced by the government and results in penalties when violated. (Michelle A. Green, 2011). Civil law typically is the one that most healthcare providers are involved with and civil law is concerned with the legal rights and relationships of private individuals. (Michelle A. Green, 2011). Federal administrative agencies similar …show more content…

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the privacy rule to actualize the prerequisite of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The privacy rule applies to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and to any health care provider who transmits health information in electronic or paper form in connection with transactions. The HIPAA is an arrangement of governmentally ordered regulations that were produced to direct the protection and privacy of patient records in the healthcare industry. The HIPAA is something that all healthcare providers must abide by to make sure they are following the rules and regulations required by the government. With the advancement of technology in the healthcare industry many providers are trying to make their facility run faster and more proficient, so they are evolving with the times and switching from paper to digital. Since mostly all of the healthcare providers are going digital the HIPAA rules and regulations have to evolve with the technology and insure that the technology is safe and secure and that it still meets the privacy regulations for the patients’ health information. Standards vary depending on the common law, state law, and the type of health care setting. Different states have different laws, so depending on the location different rules and regulations may

Show More
Related

  • HIPAA: Privacy and Security Rules The Computer, the Nurse and You

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    How would you like to keep track of your personal health information record in your computer at home? The electronic data exchange was one of the goals of the government to improve the delivery and competence of the U.S. healthcare system. To achieve this plan, the U.S. Congress passed a regulation that will direct its implementation. The Department of Health and Human Services is the branch of the government that was assigned to oversee the HIPAA rules. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is a national public law in the United States that was created to improve health insurability, prevent insurance abuse and to protect the privacy and security of a person’s health information.

    Read More

  • Importance of HIPAA and the Bill of Rights in the Healthcare System

    1751 Words  | 4 Pages

    Why is important for the HIPAA and the Bill of Right work in the healthcare system.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

    1894 Words  | 4 Pages

    Overall these sources proved to provide a great deal of information to this nurse. All sources pertained to HIPAA standards and regulations. This nurse sought out an article from when HIPAA was first passed to evaluate the timeline prospectively. While addressing the implications of patient privacy, these articles relate many current situations nurses and physicians encounter daily. These resources also discussed possible violations and methods to prevent by using an informaticist and information technology.

    Read More

  • The Technological Feasibility of HIPAA Requirements

    3082 Words  | 7 Pages

    – Health plans; – Health care clearinghouses;. – Health care providers who transmit health information in electronic form for certain standard transactions. Even though HIPAA was signed into law over seven years ago, its effects are mostly being felt now. This is because of its schedule of compliance. * 10/16/2002 - Transactions and code sets * 4/14/2003 – Privacy Rule * 4/14/2003 – Business Associates * 4/20/2005 – Security Rule This delay stems from a provision in the original act stating that if Congress did not specify certain regulations by the end of 1999, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had to do it.

    Read More

  • Summary of HIPAA

    1815 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper will examine the privacy rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996

    Read More

  • HIPAA Act of 1996

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 made it illegal to gain access to personal medical information for any reasons other than health care delivery, operations, and reimbursements” (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 166). “HIPAA legislation mandated strict controls on the transfer of personally identifiable health data between two entities, provisions for disclosure of protected information, and criminal penalties for violation” (Clayton 2001). “HIPAA also has privacy requirements that govern disclosure of patient protected health information (PHI) placed in the medical record by physicians, nurses, and other health care providers” (Buck, 2011). Always remember conversations about a patient’s health care or treatment is a violation of HIPAA. “All PHI is included in the privacy requirements for example: the patient’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; the provision of health care to the individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe it can be used to identify the individual” (Buck, 2011). Other identifiable health information would be the patient’s name, address, birth date and Social Security Number (Keomouangchanh, 2011). (Word count 197)

    Read More

  • The Stark Law

    1743 Words  | 4 Pages

    regulations - what's next? Health Matrix: Journal of Law and Medicine 2, no. 1 (Spring): 49- (22 p).

    Read More

  • Wrongful Conception

    2025 Words  | 5 Pages

    Forrester, K., & Griffiths, D. (2010). Essentials of law for health professionals. Sydney: Mosby Elsevier. Retrieved from Google Books.

    Read More

  • HIPPA and the Privacy of Medical Records

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    Previously, healthcare information has been protected by state law. However, since this information crosses state lines, the need for federal protection has been warranted. In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA provides the first federal protection for the privacy of medical records (Burke & Weill, 2005) HIPPA encourages the use of electronic medical record and the sharing of medical records between healthcare providers, because it can aid in saving lives. HIPAA requires that patients have some knowledge of the use of their medical records and must be notified in writing of their providers' privacy policy. HIPAA has technical requirements which a healthcare provider, insurer, or service provider, unless exempt under state law, must provide. An organization must conduct a self evaluation to learn what threats its records face, and develop techniques needed to protect the information (HIPAA, 1996). HIPAA's purpose is to protect the privacy of the consumers.

    Read More

  • Healthcare Reform in the United States

    1608 Words  | 4 Pages

    For decades, one of the many externalities that the government is trying to solve is the rising costs of healthcare. "Rising healthcare costs have hurt American competitiveness, forced too many families into bankruptcy to get their families the care they need, and driven up our nation's long-term deficit" ("Deficit-Reducing Healthcare Reform," 2014). The United States national government plays a major role in organizing, overseeing, financing, and more so than ever delivering health care (Jaffe, 2009). Though the government does not provide healthcare directly, it serves as a financing agent for publicly funded healthcare programs through the taxation of citizens. The total share of the national publicly funded health spending by various governments amounts to 4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, GDP (Jaffe, 2009). By 2019, government spending on Medicare and Medicaid is expected to rise to 6 percent and 12 percent by 2050 (Jaffe, 2009). The percentages, documented from the Health Policy Brief (2009) by Jaffe, are from Medicare and Medicaid alone. The rapid rates are not due to increase of enrollment but growth in per capita costs for providing healthcare, especially via Medicare.

    Read More

  • The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, most commonly known by its initials HIPAA, was enacted by Congress then signed by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1996. This act was put into place in order to regulate the privacy of patient health information, and as an effort to lower the cost of health care, shape the many pieces of our complicated healthcare system. This act also protects individuals from losing their health insurance if they lose their employment or choose to switch employers. . Before HIPAA there was no standard or consistency for the enforcement of the privacy for patients and the rules and regulations varied by state and organizations. HIPAA virtually affects everybody within the healthcare field including but not limited to patients, providers, payers and intermediaries. Although there are many parts of the HIPAA act, for the purposes of this paper we are going to focus on the two main sections and the four objectives of HIPAA, a which are to improve the portability (the capability of transferring from one employee to another) of health insurance, combat fraud, abuse, and waste in health insurance, to promote the expanded use of medical savings accounts, and to simplify the administration of health insurance.

    Read More

  • HMO Regulation

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    Health Maintenance Organizations, or HMO’s, are a very important part of the American health care system. Also referred to as managed care programs, HMO's are combinations of doctors and insurance companies that are formed into one organization. This organization provides treatment to its members at fixed costs and decides on what treatment, if any, will be given based on the patient's or doctor's current health plan. Sometimes, no treatment is given at all. HMO's main concerns are to control costs and supposedly provide the best possible treatment to their patients. But it seems to the naked eye that instead their main goal is to get more people enrolled so that they can maintain or raise current premiums paid by consumers using their service. For HMO's, profit comes first- not patients' lives.

    Read More

  • HIPAA

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act passed and were signed into law on August 21, 1996. It affects the medical facility and its day to day operations; in many different ways. HIPAA sets higher standard of operation for healthcare workers and the facilities. "HIPAA was instituted to "improve the portability and continuity of health insurance coverage; to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and healthcare delivery; to promote the use of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long term care services and coverage; to simplify the administration of health insurance; and to serve other purposes" (Kinn’s, 2011).

    Read More

  • The History Of HIPAA

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some of the things that HIPAA does for a patient are it gives patients more control over their health information. It sets boundaries on the use and release of health records. It establishes appropriate guidelines that health care providers and others must do to protect the privacy of the patients’ health information. It holds violators accountable, in court that can be imposed if they violate patients’ privacy rights by HIPAA. Overall HIPAA makes it to where the health information can’t b...

    Read More

  • Essay On Confidentiality

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA), Confidential Information and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA), and the Freedom of Information Act all provide legal protection under many laws. It also involves ethical protection. The patient must be able to completely trust the healthcare provider by having confidence that their information is kept safe and not disclosed without their consent. Disclosing any information to the public could be humiliating for them. Patient information that is protected includes all medical and personal information related to their medical records, medical treatments, payment records, date of birth, gender, and

    Read More

More about Healthcare Laws And Regulations

Open Document