Hipa A Critical Issue - 1800 Words

HIPAA – A Critical Issue Most people have a basic understanding about HIPAA and what it entails, but for future healthcare leaders, it is a critical issue. The goals behind the HIPAA privacy rules are very beneficial for keeping individual’s health information private, but it does place a heavy burden on organizations to ensure the information remains protected. Healthcare leaders have always had to adapt to change, but it is becoming increasingly necessary to have leaders that can adapt quicker than ever. Not only do they need to keep up with the technological advances in healthcare, but they also need to become compliant with the new and ever-changing healthcare laws. Numerous modifications have been implemented under HIPAA in the†¦show more content†¦14). In 2009, HIPAA was modified yet again to include the Health Information and Technology and Economic Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. The HITECH Act drastically modified the law to offer enhanced patient privacy and security, ne w patient rights, and increased compliance enforcement by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) (New Rule, 2013, para. 2). The HITECH Act put rigorous guidelines in place surrounding data protection of heath information technology to improve patient privacy and security (Grossman, 2014). Many of the new technology requirements have been incorporated with the increased use of electronic health records (EHRs) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (Security Rule, n.d.). The final omnibus rule incorporates some additional regulations, but is primarily based on the final legislative changes under the HITECH Act. Definitions Under HIPAA, the definition of a covered entity is a health plan (insurance companies, HMOs, company health plans, government health plans), healthcare provider (doctors, dentists, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, etc.), or healthcare clearinghouse (billing service, repricing company, health information systems, etc.) (Covered Entity, n.d.). A business associate is, â€Å"a person or entity that performs