May 4, 2010 Paw Street Journal

WHAT IS HIPAA?

HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA is a federal law that sets a national standard to protect medical records and other personal health information. Congress passed this legislation in 1996.

IS HIPAA APPLICABLE TO ALL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS?

Yes; HIPAA applies to hospitals, physicians, insurance companies, laboratories, dentists, ambulatory surgery centers, business offices, etc.

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS UNDER HIPAA

Covered entities must provide individuals with certain rights regarding Protected Health Information (PHI) under HIPAA, including:

Right to access a designated record set of their PHI
Right to amend their PHI
Right to an accounting of certain disclosures of their PHI
Right to request confidential communications regarding their PHI
Right to request additional restrictions of the uses and disclosures of their PHI

WHAT IS PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION (PHI)?

The following is considered protected information about patients: addresses, dates, telephone/fax numbers, social security numbers, medical record numbers, patient account numbers, insurance plan numbers, vehicle information, license numbers, medical equipment numbers, photographs, fingerprints and e-mail/Internet addresses.

WHAT IS CONSIDERED "HEALTH INFORMATION"?

Any information whether oral, written, or electronic (computer) regarding a patient is considered "Health Information". Information can be related to past, present, or future physical or mental health conditions.

WHAT ARE SOME "SPECIAL TIPS" VOLUNTEERS SHOULD KNOW?

Protecting the confidential health information of patients is the responsibility of everyone involved in their treatment and healing process, including volunteers.
Be sensitive to confidential patient information. If it is information you wouldn't want shared about you, do not share it with others.
Think before you talk about patient-specific information.
Keep information to yourself if you overhear or see confidential patient information.
Do not talk about patients in the elevators, hallways, cafeteria, gift shop, and other common areas.
Do not mention the names of anyone that is in a hospital, nursing home, rehab, etc. with anyone. Consider the fact that this person may not want anyone to know that they are in a medical facility.

Remember when in any facility...
What you hear or see in a facility is confidential and needs to stay confidential. Please do not share information regarding patients with anyone.

Back to Top