HIPAA Privacy Rule Compliance: Understanding and Complying with the Requirements

A law known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act (HIPAA) was created to safeguard patient medical records in the US. The security controls, methods, and procedures defined in the HIPAA regulation must be implemented by certain entities that have access to protected health information (PHI).

The Privacy Rule and the Security Rule are the two main HIPAA rules. These regulations are joined by the Breach Notification Rule, which outlines how businesses should notify a PHI breach, and the Omnibus Rule, which expanded the scope of HIPAA responsibilities to cover business partners as well. To know more about the HIPAA rules please visit website.

What is Privacy Rules?

The Privacy Regulation, which establishes standards for the privacy of personally identifiable health information, specifies how healthcare institutions are required to protect particular categories of health information entrusted to them. Cases in which PHI may be accessed and disclosed are specified by the Privacy Rule. Additionally, it outlines the security measures that covered companies must put in place to protect PHI and grants patients specific rights with regard to their PHI.

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Entities Subject to the Privacy Rule

“covered entities,” or people or businesses that electronically communicate health information as part of customary medical service, are subject to the Privacy Rule. Health care providers, health plans, and clearinghouses are examples of covered entities. Health plans are organisations that deliver or cover the cost of medical treatment, including managed care companies, private health insurers, and government payers and health programmes like Medicaid, Medicare, or Veterans Affairs. Hospitals, doctors, and other treatment facilities are considered health care providers, and billing services are typically referred to as health care clearinghouses.

A covered entity that also performs duties unrelated to health care can turn into a hybrid entity by putting in writing its “health care components” if it falls under one of the covered entity categories. So, the Privacy Rule applies only to certain aspects of health care. Unless the university chooses to be a hybrid entity by designating solely the hospital as the health care component, the entire university will be classed as a covered entity if, for instance, it has a hospital and an academic medical centre. By doing this, the Privacy Rule only applies to the hospital.