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Hipaa

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Introduction to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) We human beings have been gathering data since the dawn of mankind, whether it was in the form of pictures drawn on stones or in the form some text typed and saved on your computer. There is no doubt in that technology has multifaceted benefits but, at the same time, it has forced mankind to feel insecure. Every industry depends upon the data of the customers and the health industry is no more an exception here. The data of each patient is shared to facilitate health itself and for more rigorous and authentic research. Hence, protecting patient data is very important. It is so important that in 1996, the federal government introduced the Health Insurance …show more content…

* Do what is necessary to prevent theft of equipment containing personal health records. * All passwords should expire in 180 days and all information is to be password-protected. * Virus detection software needs to be in place at all times. * Log off the workstation, locking each workstation that is not in use. * Have an organization-wide policy to have regular security audits. The main goal of HIPAA is to protect unauthorized access and misuse of confidential health information. It allows for the safe storage of any health facts used, collected, transmitted or maintained by any health organization. It states that all health information about a particular client is completely confidential, regardless of what the format is and whether it is transmitted, maintained or collected. Protected information is that health information that already identifies the patient or could be used in order to identify the patient; it also relates to any of the patient’s past, present or future health conditions, any treatment the patient receives and any payment the patient makes toward their care. I used the following two website to do research on the topic of HIPAA. 1. http://www.hhs.gov/ 2. http://www.cms.gov/ http://www.hhs.gov/ is the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) website, and is a government website in which all the content

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