HIPAA Overview
The American Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a set of rules to be followed by health plans, doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers.
HIPAA took effect on April 14, 2003. The U.S. Congress passed the act to establish formal regulations designed to protect the confidentiality and security of patient information. Congress set a series of deadlines for healthcare institutions to comply with the new regulations, including an April 2005 deadline for the security requirements. Smaller healthcare organizations, $5M or less, had an additional year and must be compliant by April 21, 2006. In the healthcare and medical profession, the great challenge that HIPAA has created is the requirement that all patient account handling, billing, and medical records are ,
HIPAA compliant.
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HIPAA security regulations require mechanisms for controlling access to patient data on healthcare providers’ information systems. It focuses on higher level business practices which include privacy practice policies, authorization for usage and disclosures, access and amendment of protected health information (PHI), healthcare related communications (including oral) and marketing, and de-identification of health information.
