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HIPAA compliance offers numerous benefits to your business and your clients. It ensures the security of your patients and keeps your business operating ethically and with your patients in mind. It covers many of the legal logistics of handling sensitive data, from storing it digitally to portability rights and consent.
HIPAA consists of three major rules: the breach notification rule, the security rule, and the privacy rule. Each plays an important part in ensuring our private information and health records stay secured, accurate, and in the right hands. As a healthcare provider, it’s imperative you know how these three rules—especially the privacy rule—play essential roles in the proper care of your patients. Here are three important things to know about the HIPAA privacy rule.
What Is the Privacy Rule?
The privacy rule, also known as the “the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information,” is one of the most essential regulations in HIPAA. It establishes the appropriate standards for protecting certain health information. Within its standards, the rule distinguishes regulations about:
- Sharing and using protected health information (PHI);
- Covered entities; and
- Individual, patient privacy rights
It establishes patient security and permissions for access to appropriate information for you and other specific healthcare providers to maximize your care, services, and aid.
What Information Is Protected?
The privacy rule’s PHI covers sensitive information that relates to one’s identification. Protected information includes data pertaining to:
- One’s past and current mental and physical well-being, as well as future medical predictions
- A patient’s medical aid and provisions
- Payment information and data
- Personal identifiers (i.e. birthdate, social security number, and address)
On top of establishing protected information, the privacy rule further sets the standards for handling, changing, and sharing the sensitive data. It gives patient’s more autonomy over their PHI and ensures practices implement proper security protocols to keep the necessary PHI safe and in the right hands.
Who Is Covered?
Covered entities are specific groups that are allowed access to a patient’s PHI. They are designated officials that require one’s PHI in order to provide optimized care. Covered entities include:
- Healthcare providers
- Health plans
- Clearinghouses (electronic hubs, stations, and apps that play a role in transmitting PHI)
- Contract and defined business associates
As a healthcare provider, it’s important to understand your role as a covered entity and how to maximize your security protocols. Following protocols and secured PHI management ensures you remain HIPAA compliant.
Keep your business HIPAA compliant and learn all you need to know about HIPAA’s privacy rules and other essential standards with online HIPAA compliance training. Training covers all you need to know about HIPAA—from its various rules to how to implement protocol standards—and helps you and your employees create a safer, more secure, and ethical business practice.