What is HIPAA

Role of DHHS and ARRA The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (hhs.gov/hipaa [1]) is responsible for updating covered entities and issuing new standards for the use or exchange of Protected Health Information (PHI). Traditionally, a healthcare provider claiming HIPAA compliance … [Read more...] about What is HIPAA Compliance?

Guidelines Governing the Sharing or Disclosure of HIPAA Patient Health Information What is HIPAA Protected Health Information (PHI)? HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) provides comprehensive guidelines for the sharing and disclosure of Patient Health Information (PHI) … [Read more...] about HIPAA Protected Health Information Definition

The first point of contact for complaints regarding the HIPAA Privacy Rule is the covered entity itself. Surveys indicate that many complaints from individuals arise due to confusion about the rules. Even staff members of covered entities are not always well-versed in their responsibilities under … [Read more...] about HIPAA Privacy Rule Violation and Enforcement

Purpose of the HITECH Act The ARRA HITECH Act, introduced by HHS [1], outlines requirements for compliance with the security and privacy regulations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. It promotes the expansion of HIPAA standards for Electronic Medical Records (EMR) to facilitate the national electronic … [Read more...] about HIPAA HITECH Act Summary

Importance of HIPAA Compliance HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a federally mandated, nationally applicable standard in the healthcare industry, governing all entities handling Patient Health Information (PHI). Failure to comply with HIPAA benchmarks for accessing, … [Read more...] about HIPAA Certification

HIPAA 5010 [1] represents an upgrade—not a fundamental overhaul—of existing HIPAA standards. The changes addressed the outdated nature of prior standards and were designed to support new medical billing and coding data, specifically ICD-10-CM [2] and ICD-10-PCS [3], which were effective October 1, … [Read more...] about HIPAA 5010 Definition

Understanding the ICD-10 Implementation Delay The transition to ICD-10 [1], the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, was initially set for October 1, 2014. However, due to legislative action, the implementation date was postponed to October 1, 2015. This delay was … [Read more...] about What are the ICD-10 delays?