GOOD HEALTH 2022 | 7
HEALTH INFORMATION
How does HIPAA protect your privacy as a patient
Visiting a doctor ’ s office or a hospital , generally means a host of paperwork being provided to you including a privacy notice and you being asked to sign a form . But like many people anxious to see their physician , you likely took the papers and signed your signature without fully reading them . These forms are part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( HIPAA ) enacted by Congress in 1996 . In general , the HIPAA Privacy Rule provides federal protections for your personal health information and gives patients ’ rights with respect to that information . It also provides guidelines for the sharing of health information needed for patient care between physicians , nurses and those involved with your care . Additionally , HIPAA guarantees each patient the right to access their record at the healthcare facility where their information is kept . The notice you sign at registration describes the ways the health care entity can use and disclose your protected health information . The primary uses
BY RICHARD CHAPMAN UK HealthCare Chief Privacy Officer
permitted under HIPAA are uses for treatment , payment and operations . This ensures that healthcare providers can use the needed information to provide patients care and to bill insurance companies for those services . Information protected under HIPAA includes information that is created or collected by your provider while delivering care . It also includes
information about you in your health insurer ’ s computer system , billing information , and most other health-related information about you held by entities required by law to follow these rules . These entities covered under HIPAA generally include your health plan , clearing houses and your health care provider such as doctors , clinics , hospitals , psychologists , chiropractors , nursing homes , pharmacies and dentists . So what does it mean ? Covered entities must reasonably limit how it uses and releases your information to accomplish their intended purpose . They must have formal agreements in place with their contractors and others ensuring that they use and disclose your health information appropriately and safeguard it . In addition , they must have procedures that limit who can view and access your health information as well as implement training programs for employees about how to protect your health information . With a more interconnected world in which we live , these protections facilitate access to patient information for treatment purposes while still setting privacy and security standards for all healthcare providers to follow . HIPAA also gives you the rights related to your information such as allowing you to ask to see and get a copy of your health records , request corrections added to your health information , and receive a notice that tells you how your health information could be used and shared with others . Health care entities are required by law to provide access to your records within a 30-day period from request . A new federal law called the 21st Century CURES Act reinforces these rights under HIPAA and pushes healthcare providers to accelerate ways to provide more direct access to your information . For more information about HIPAA and health information privacy , got to http :// www . hhs . gov / ocr / privacy /.