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What´s HIPAA Violations?

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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act established in 1996 sets standards for health care information. These laws protect patient’s sensitive health information. The purpose of this discussion is to review a former UCLA employee’s HIPAA violation. Additionally, HIPAA laws and penalties for violation up for examination. Ending this discussion with the possible charges that the employee may receive.
Huping Zhou, employed at the UCLA School of Medicine as a researcher in 2003, faces fines and prison time for accessing medical charts of high profile clients and his supervisors without proper authorization. Although Zhou was terminated from his position before these violations for unrelated complications his access to UCLA’s electronic medical record remained. Over the course of this time, 323 accounts were accessed; plea agreement was reached, and Zhou omitted to view health information for four separate occurrences. The sentence …show more content…

Penalty’s for these violations are based upon the degree of the misconduct. Fines range from $100 to $50000 per violation and imprisonment from 1 to 10 years (American Medical Association, n.d) Zhou received a light sentence for the crimes that he committed. HIPAA penalties are based upon the number of violations; though Zhou accessed 323 medical he was not charged for each violation. High profile patient’s charts were also viewed, shall this information be released Zhou could have received fine up to $250000 and ten years in person. He also claimed that he did not know that violating HIPAA was a federal crime. Working in healthcare HIPAA is preached, and I fell that there is not a possibility that he did not know he was committing a crime.
In conclusion, any medical care received should remain private. As health care members we must ensure health information is protected. Understanding HIPAA laws, following them and reporting violations safeguard confidential

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