HIPAA Act Essay

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In 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Health care Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPPA history,”n.d). This particular act is better known as HIPAA. The purpose of HIPAA was not solely to enhance answerability and to speed up operations concerning “health insurance coverage,” but its purpose was to also establish clear and strict guidelines to decrease possible misuse of how health is either insured or delivered (“HIPAA history,” n.d). HIPAA also serves more than just a “privacy act.” This act serves as protection for employees and their dependents in the event that the covered individual loses his/her coverage (USDL, n.d.). HIPAA’s existence constituted as a necessary health care reform. This particular healthcare reform empowered patients by giving them more control and say over the handling of medical records. The HIPAA law also reshaped how health care providers handled patients’ medical records, especially concerning patient privacy (IHS, n.d.). Under the HIPAA law, the privacy rule includes the “national standards” that health care organizations must …show more content…

This law is not limited to hospitals, but also includes facilities such as skilled nursing homes, psychiatric care, and social workers as well (“Obtaining your medical records,” n.d.) However, the HIPAA law does include a few provisions that may highlight certain limitations on our patient rights and our organization. I will explore the different provisions in order to determine we comply with the law. The next portion will include the level of access our patient has over his medical records including psychiatric records as

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