The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 of the United States came into existence to protect the health and insurance interests of the American citizens. The act was framed to provide employees and their families insurances, protect confidential medical and personal information, gives the patients power to control their personal and medical information and protects their insurance during the event of job change. It brings transparency into the insurance system and makes the insurance houses and healthcare facilities more accountable.



The act gives the patients the right to manage their medical insurance and can control who sees their information. Misuse of medical information, theft of identity and information, revealing information without the knowledge of the holder and sale of information for monetary benefits, these are some of the offenses under HIPAA. The patient also has the advantage of complaining against those he or she suspects of committing HIPAA violations. These violations are a serious offense and the penalties may range from simple minimal fines to prisons for severe and repeat offenders. Some of the most common violations are as mentioned.





• Administrative Violations



HIPAA has provisions to protect the medical information and privacy of the patients. The doctor, the insurance company, the hospital and all those related to the patient’s medical life have to respect this privacy. The “covered entity” or the company providing the training is required to have a well guarded privacy policy which spells out HIPAA regulations for the patient and the healthcare provider. In case of online training, it is the covered entity’s responsibi
lity to protect the privacy, install and use data protection software and protect confidential data. If any of these are suspected to be violated, the patient may file a complaint against the alleged party.



• Privacy Notice Violations



In case privacy policies of the covered entity are changed, it is the responsibility of the covered entity to inform the patient of the changes within 60 days of the announcements. This change can be informed through pamphlets, notices, circulars, emails and alerts. Failure to inform the concerned people is violation of HIPAA. A copy of the privacy policies has to be circulated once every three years.



• HIPAA violations versus State Law



While HIPAA is a federal law, there are some sections and clauses in the insurance sector that are required to be tried under the state law. Failure to differentiate between the clauses and the authorities is considered an offense.



• Oral Privacy Violations



Doctors, healthcare facilities and the nurses are required to respect the medical privacy of the patient. Failure to adhere to the privacy policies and misusing information or medical details is violation of HIPAA. For instance, a physician is not supposed to discuss his or her patient by name with any other physician.



Fortunately for the patients and their families, while HIPAA is a very useful tool to protect themselves, it is also very powerful and gives him greater control over their own medical insurances. It is very important to educate the patients of their rights so that they can use HIPAA to their advantage.

For more information, please visit our hipaa violations website.

For more information, please visit our hipaa violations website http://www.hipaaviolations.com