The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has laid down extensive provisions to protect your privacy by putting curbs on distribution of such information by related bodies both in electronic form and on paper, and at the same times gives you complete control over most aspects of your personal information. Furthermore it has a set of rules to penalize anyone who disregards the privacy requirements.
The following 5 points will give you a greater insight into this prominent provision of HIPAA.
- Right to Access Data: HIPAA and its privacy rules give you distinct rights to access your information, and in addition you can also make changes and correct any errors that may be present. Furthermore you can ask to review the information at any time and the entity will be obliged to respond within a period of 30 days from making such a request. What's more you can also ask for copies of the information contained in your file; however the entity is allowed to take certain charges for providing you with such copies.
- Control over Personal Data: HIPAA gives you a comprehensive control over your data. You can state explicitly in writing, the persons with whom such information can be shared, a family member or spouse for example. Similarly you can clearly state if you do not want the data shared with certain parties. Also if any entity wants to share your personal information, they will have to take prior permission and state all the details of the data and parties involved. Your data can not be utilized for any kind of marketing or advertising exercise unless you allow it through a written consent.
- Information Covered: Your personal information that has to be kept undisclosed under the provisions of the HIPAA privacy laws include data about medical history, any communication with the medical center personnel regarding treatment or any such medical information that can identify you.
- Parties Involved: HIPAA clearly states the bodies and individuals who have to follow its privacy guidelines. The list comprises of healthcare providers like hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and even doctors. Also included are company health plans, insurance companies and healthcare clearing houses. These parties fall under the purview of this Act and are often called as covered entities. Here you must also take note that your employers, school, life insurance companies, certain state agencies and most importantly law enforcement agencies do not fall under these provisions of HIPAA.
- Violation of Privacy: If any unauthorized distribution of data or any such violations come to your notice you can file a complaint with your doctor, hospital, insurance company or to the relevant body of the government. HIPAA has sufficient provisions to investigate such cases and even penalize the offending parties should such charges be proved.
As you can see for yourself, HIPAA has ample provisions to safeguard your private information. You on your part must know about certain situations like billing and protection of public health and bodies like the police which are exempted under HIPAA and can use your personal information.
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