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 HIPAA Makes Security a
Necessity
The
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 was
enacted as part of a Congressional healthcare reform. "Administrative
Simplification" is an aspect of the law that requires the United States
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to develop standards and
requirements for maintenance and transmission of health information that
identifies individual patients. These standards are designed to improve
efficiency and protect the security and confidentiality of electronic
health information.
As a health care provider it is important that you are now HIPAA
compliant. It is advisable that you create forms informing
your patients about office policies in regards to their medical
information. Such forms should include:
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Place where their files are stored,
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Who
has access to their files,
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Name, address, and contact information of your billing service,
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Name
of the healthcare clearinghouse claims are processed through,
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Method of transmission of claims.
You will
need additional consent forms with every additional disclosure such as
in transfer of record, referral or consultation…etc. There should also
be a separate consent form for the patient to sign indicating the use
and disclosure of all protected health information. A copy of this must
be forwarded to the billing company to be kept with the patient's
record. Patients have a right to request restrictions on the use of
their protected information. It is imperative that health care providers
work closely with billing personnel on this issue. All entities need to
be compliant. Noncompliance will put all parties at risk. For a detailed
description of the rule, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services
HHS Fact Sheet.
At
Total
Health Claim Solutions, LLC
we are dedicated to making sure we keep all pertinent information safe,
secure and private. We pride ourselves in utilizing modern technology
and using a
professionally
secured
VPN (Virtual Private Network). Our encrypted faxing service, and
password protected software are at the highest level security for Hipaa
standards. We strive to stay current and educated
with HIPAA laws and regulations.
HIPAA
Resources:
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