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How HIPPA Has Changed the Medical Field

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From the beginning when HIPAA got started it saved people and their privacy encouraging the best standard of care and trust between a patient and physician. This paper will be discussing on how HIPAA has changed the medical field. HIPAA also known as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, give examples on how it is applied to the clinical setting. This paper will discuss steps medical assistants take when applying HIPAA and how it protects patients and physicians. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is also known as Public Law 104-191 and HIPAA. The law was passed in 1996 by the United States Congress after a wide number of patients complained about not being able to pay premiums to the same insurance company after changing jobs. Once the law was passed, Congress thought to improve the effectiveness of the health care system by improving standards of privacy and protecting patients and physicians from lawsuits. Two examples of HIPAA is not releasing information out, whether it is intentional or unintentional unless your patient gave written consent releasing their personal information out, even if it is to their spouse or child – it is against the law. Negligence is another example of peoples HIPAA violation. Medical staff being so busy that they do not put away files or turn computers off, it becomes a violation of HIPAA because that information is no longer confidential but left out for everyone to view. The way HIPAA applies in the

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