About HIPAA

What is HIPAA? The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) creates national standards dedicated to protecting sensitive patient health information and the rights of individuals and covered entities involved. It consists of five major regulations:

1) Privacy Rule

2) Security Rule

3) Transactions and Code Sets

4) Unique Identifiers Rule

5) Enforcement Rule

All five HIPAA guidelines address best practices for handling sensitive health information, the dangers of nonconsensual disclosure, and patients’ rights over their protected health information (PHI).

HIPAA Covered Entities

HIPAA covered entities refer to health plans, clearinghouses, and providers in healthcare who electronically handle any health information. They include doctors, clinics, insurance companies, vets, and dentists.

What Is Considered PHI?

Sensitive patient health information, or protected health information, refers to any data about a person’s health status, healthcare provisions, insurance and financial status, and personal identifiers. Some examples of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) list of HIPAA PHI identifiers include:

• Patient’s name

• Important dates

• Contact information

• Social security number

• Account information

• IP addresses

• Full face images

• Various identification codes

About HIPAA Violation Penalties

PHI in the wrong hands leads to serious security dangers. It increases the risks of false and stolen identities, fraud, and exploitation. Due to the severity of liabilities, HIPAA violations come with serious penalties. HIPAA breaches fall under four main culpabilities:

1) No Knowledge: Violations occurred without intent or knowledge

2) Reasonable Cause: Cases where the covered entity should’ve known the act was a violation

3) Willful Neglect (timely corrected): Violation was acted on purpose but corrected in a timely manner

4) Willful Neglect (not timely corrected): Purposeful violation that was left uncorrected

All violations lead to varying amounts of penalty fines depending on the severity of the violation and other influential factors in the case.

HIPAA Compliance

In the healthcare and dental industries, HIPAA compliance plays an important role. It establishes client loyalty, promotes ethical practices, increases retention rates, and reduces violation penalties, among many other benefits. Learning about HIPAA and providing yourself and your staff with proper HIPAA training ensures you stay compliant and reap the benefits the safety standards promote.

Gamma Compliance is here to help you understand all you need to know about HIPAA with our training programs specifically designed for medical providers, veterinaries, and dental clinics. Check out our training manuals and stay in the know on the latest HIPAA information and compliance requirements.