What is HIPAA?
The questions that are often asked of HIPAA Associates are as follows.
What is HIPAA? What does HIPAA stand for? How do I learn about HIPAA?
On this HIPAA Resource page and in the links below we provide the answers to the important questions on the HIPAA regulation. You will receive HIPAA training free, covering the HIPAA Privacy Rule (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). This act established national standards to protect individuals’ medical records and other individually identifiable health information. This is collectively known as “protected health information”.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule is applicable to covered entities such as health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers that conduct certain health care transactions electronically. In addition, this is also applied to business associates who handle protected health information on behalf of covered entities.
HIPAA Resources
Please follow the links below for valuable HIPAA resources. These are ideal for Covered Entities and Business Associates.
HIPAA Associates is pleased to offer our clients free HIPAA resources.
HIPAA Rules
The Rule requires appropriate safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information (PHI) and sets limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures that may be made of such information without an individual’s authorization.
The Rule also gives individuals rights over their protected health information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records, to direct a covered entity to transmit to a third party an electronic copy of their protected health information in an electronic health record, and to request corrections.
It is important for all covered entities and business associate to fully understand the HIPAA Privacy Rule and how it affects their organization. Additionally, it is important for business associates to understand the Omnibus Rule and how it affects them in the face of any security incident.
HIPAA was enacted to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system. This included Administrative Simplification provisions that required HHS to adopt national standards. These are for electronic health care transactions and code sets, unique health identifiers, and security.
Congress incorporated into HIPAA provisions that mandated the adoption of Federal privacy protections for individually identifiable health information.
Privacy Rule – This Rule set national standards for the protection of patient health information. It addressed the three types of covered entities who conduct the standard health care transactions electronically.
- health plans,
- health care clearinghouses
- health care providers
Security Rule – This Rule sets national standards for protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information.
The Enforcement Rule provides standards for the enforcement of all the Administrative Simplification Rules.
Final Omnibus Rule implements a number of provisions of the HITECH Act. These strengthen the privacy and security protections for health information established under HIPAA. This helped to finalize the Breach Notification Rule.
How HIPAA Works
The Rule requires appropriate safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information. It limits the uses and disclosures without an individual’s authorization.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) oversees the Privacy and Security Rules.
For more information please follow our links below. HIPAA Associates is happy to make our HIPAA Resources available for your benefit. If you are unable to find the answer to your questions, please feel free to Contact Us or visit our main page.
The HIPAA Resource section is geared to provide HIPAA training free to all providers interested in learning about the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Our material is updated regularly, and new sections are added continuously to cover all important topics. By reviewing this you will come one step closer to becoming HIPAA compliant.
This introduction to HIPAA will give you the important background information you need to understand the key concepts of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
