Hipaa Privacy Notice: Fill & Download for Free

Since it was enacted in 1996 by the United States government, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has enforced strict penalties for organizations who fail to provide data privacy and provisions towards safeguarding medical information. More specifically, it demands that the Department of Human Services and Health in the U.S. (HHS) create regulations that protect both the security and privacy of health information. In order to make these regulations more manageable by both government and private organizations, HHS published the HIPAA Security Rule and HIPAA Privacy rule. However, sometimes this act can be split up into four different rules;HIPAA Privacy RuleHIPAA Security RuleHIPPA Enforcement RuleHIPAA Breach Notification RuleHIPAA SECURITY RULE KEY DATESAugust 14, 2002 - Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule – Final RuleMarch 27, 2002 - Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule – Proposed RuleFebruary 28, 2001 - Request for Comments on December 28, 2000, Final HIPAA Privacy RuleFebruary 26, 2001 - Correction of Effective and Compliance Dates of the Final HIPAA Privacy RuleDecember 29, 2000 - Technical Corrections to the Final HIPAA Privacy RuleDecember 28, 2000 - HIPAA Privacy Rule – Final RuleNovember 3, 1999 - HIPAA Privacy Rule – Proposed RuleLearn about the Rulemaking History of the HIPAA Enforcement Rule, 45 CFR Part 160, Subparts C, D, and E.March 20, 2003 - Notice of Addresses for Submission of HIPAA Health Information Privacy Complaints (PDF - PDF)March 11, 2003 - Notice of Address for Submission of Requests for Preemption Exception Determinations (PDF - PDF)December 28, 2000 - Statement of Delegation of Authority to the Office for Civil Rights (PDF - PDF)August 12, 1998 – Security and Electronic Signature Standards - Proposed RuleFebruary 20, 2003 – Security Standards – Final RuleAugust 3, 2009 – View the Delegation of Authority Press ReleaseAugust 4, 2009 – Federal Register notice of the Delegation of Authority to OCR (74 FR 38630)

The biggest mistake here was using a very public platform to manage very private information, and as it appears it was done in an insensitive manner.General principles of privacy that are at play here:An organization should only use the personal identifiable information it collects for the purposes it states it is doing it for. You'll notice on all official Church directories that there are regular reminders to only use it for official Church purposes.An organization has a responsibility to state with whom they will share that information and for what purpose. In this case, the ward should have gotten permission of each ward member to build this map. Of course, the Church has rules against this kind of thing to, so they probably should have checked wit headquarters too.If a company or organization expands the intent of that collection of data, there is an expectation to alert the individual as soon as reasonably possible. You'll see notices on websites where you'll have to reagree to the terms of use or get a notice that the privacy notice has been updated.

HIPAA rules for dentists are the MOST neglected aspect of dentistry.The basic idea is that there are rules we need to follow so that the patient’s privacy is well-protected.HIPAA includes everything from the way the patient record is handled to how much information can you give out/ use while your staff is leaving a voicemail for your patient.The main HIPAA rules for the dentists are the Privacy Rule (2003), Security Rule (2005) and Breach Notification Rule (2009). Recent additions are the HITECH Act (2009) and Final Omnibus Rule (2013).What are these rules exactly?The Privacy Rule deals with the way the the patient;s personal health information is handled. The key areas are:The personal identifiers considered to be Protected Health Information.The permissible uses and disclosures of Protected Health Information.Safeguards to implement to protect the privacy of patient health information.An explanation of the Minimum Information Necessary rule.Restrictions on the use of Protected Health Information for marketing.Patient access to medical information and notice of privacy practices.The Sensitivity Rule addresses three areas- technical requirements (safeguarding electronic data/ controlling the method of data transport), physical requirements (security of computer systems and the environment ) and administrative requirements (development of HIPAA-compliant communication systems).The Breach Notification Rule as the name suggests, deals with the timely and mannerly reporting of any breach or compromise in patient health information.The HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act simply mandates periodic investigations to ensure HIPPA compliance and the Final Omnibus Rule is a set of final regulations modifying the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Enforcement.What is important to realize here is that HIPAA breaches is not just concerned with the multi-million health plans but also small practices. However, despite this, there are potential lawsuits, reputational harm, staff morale, costs of mitigation, sanctions, patient notification, and reporting to think of.Even the smallest of the breaches can have unexpected results. It is better to sensitize oneself with the HIPAA guidelines and don’t hesitate in training your support staff too.In India, the entire outlook towards dental insurance is much different than its western counterparts. We do tend to “take it easy”, a little more than the others. This attitude needs to change. Having received training in HIPAA compliance, I have tried to bring as much change in the way we handle sensitive information as I can, under my employers. It is actually more convenient, once established.The awareness needs to spread among everyone.Our patients are so much more empowered today, with relevant information at their finger tips.We owe it to them​.Useful Links:HIPAA Rules for DentistsHIPAA FAQDo careless ‘low tech’ HIPAA breaches threaten patient privacy?