Monthly Archives: April 2009
A sample of patient’s authorization form under HIPAA
For routine patient health information disclosure such as those related to treatment, payment or other health care operations, HIPAA does not require patient’s consent. However, for any other form of disclosure for any other reason than TPO, you have to obtain written patient consent. Under the HIPAA privacy rule, you get patient’s signature on an … Continue reading
Making your medical office leak proof of private information
Your organization may have the best of intentions to keep the patients’ information private, but unfortunately you realize that the information is continuously being leaked oft and on. How will you find where the loophole in the system lies? Check these points to track HIPAA violations and identify problem areas in your medical office. Then … Continue reading
Is my Medical Billing Software HIPAA compliant?
According to the ‘Notice of Proposed Rule Making’ by the Department of Health and Human Services, or DHHS, every practice, regardless of size, must comply with HIPAA privacy, security and transactional regulations. This covers most everything in your practice, including your medical billing software. So, when you plan to buy your medical billing software, make … Continue reading
HIPAA violations can result in penalties
There are various rules as to the penalties which can be imposed if HIPAA regulations are not complied with. Broadly, these penalties can be categorized into civil and criminal penalties. Criminal Penalties: As per the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), covered entities and specified individuals, who “knowingly” obtain or disclose individually identifiable health information in … Continue reading
Guidance released by HHS for Securing Health Information
To secure health information and to prevent harm by rendering health information unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published guidance regarding technologies and methodologies to secure health information. The publication of the guidance was in tune with The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and … Continue reading
Judges confused about privacy rights as per HIPAA
Such is the ambiguity in the understanding of the area encompassed by HIPAA rules that Judge Theodore A. McKee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit “scratched his head in frustration” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, asking the government’s lawyer to explain who exactly is entitled to see a patient’s medical records … Continue reading
Medical Banking and HIPAA compliance
Medical banking includes banking technology, infrastructure and credit with health care administrative operations. However, after HIPAA, there has been some confusion regarding the status of banks when they receive protected health information (PHI) when providing these services. HIPAA applies only to “covered entities” that are health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses. Some … Continue reading
How should healthcare providers preserve their electronic records?
According to the American Health Information Management Association, master patient health records and the register of surgical procedures must be preserved in perpetuity. Also the law requires that healthcare organizations must preserve and keep these medical records confidential to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and retain these records for decades. … Continue reading
New Boundary Technologies introduces its HIPAA Compliance solution
At the HIMSS 06 conference in San Diego, New Boundary Technologies introduced its HIPAA Compliance Solution. New Boundary is a provider of automated configuration and security management solutions and it claims that this solution ensures IT compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule. The solution comprises of three components: HIPAA Security Guide which breaks down the … Continue reading
Axway & Edifecs to provide integrated solutions for new HIPAA regulations
Axway, the leading global provider of multi-enterprise solutions and infrastructure has recently formed a partnership with Edifecs to provide integrated migration solutions for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) modifications recently disclosed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Additionally, these solutions will support companies with Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange’s … Continue reading