Health systems struggling with HIPAA privacy rules

Protecting Health Information: the HIPAA Security and Breach Notification Rules

How HIPAA final rules affect health information technology vendors.

I n addition to healthcare reform, healthcare providers and their vendors now have to grapple with recently promulgated federal rules regarding privacy and security of health information. Key to the future of the healthcare reform efforts is health information technology (HIT), a broad term that is often used in conjunction with electronic health records (EHRs), mobile health (mHealth), telemed...

Protecting Health Information: the HIPAA Security and Breach Notification Rules

HIPAA Privacy/Security Rules: where we've been and where we are going. Updates from the HITECH Act to dramatically impact HIPAA privacy/security.

When HIPAA was passed, many applauded the portability aspects of HIPAA that allowed for continuing healthcare coverage for individuals who lost their jobs and attendant healthcare insurance. But few back in 1996 anticipated the dramatic impact that HIPAA would have later on the privacy and security of health information in the United States. This article discusses not only the history of HIPAA ...

They're real and they're here: the new federally regulated privacy rules under HIPAA.

The purpose of the HIPAA Privacy Rules was to create national standards to protect the privacy of personal health information. As of April 14, 2003, all covered health care entities must comply with the newly implemented national standards. The importance of staying updated with the law, while particularly important for the patient's privacy, is just as important for the nurse to avoid civil pu...