HIPAA Compliance

Running head: HIPAA COMPLIANCE 1
HIPAA Compliance
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HIPAA Compliance 2
Introduction
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is revolutionary legislation
that was presented in the year 1996 to address insurance coverage for unemployed people [1].
The HIPAA outlines the lawful disclosure and use of protected health information hence
preventing healthcare schemes and guarantee all protected health data is properly protected to
limit access to health information to unauthorized personnel [2]. The compliance Act is managed
by the department of health and human services and imposed by the office for civil rights.
HIPAA is essential in the healthcare sector as it helps in the conversion from paper
accounts to soft copies of health data. It has facilitated the streamlining of the administrative
healthcare roles, ensure efficacy, and enable secure sharing of the health data records [2]. All
HIPAA protected entities utilize the same set of codes and nationwide standard identifiers which
help significantly with the sharing of electronic health data between health plans, medical
practitioners and healthcare researchers among other relevant entities [3].
HIPAA is essential to patients as it ensures that health plans, healthcare providers and
clearinghouses, and other healthcare commercial entities of HIPAA-covered associates enforce
various precautions to guard sensitive data of the patients. The Act has established guidelines
that require the organization to regulate individuals who have access to the health records and
limiting who the information can be shared with [4]. The Act ensures that data generated by
healthcare organizations are subject to strict control. According to the Act, the patient has control
of who can access the information and who it can be shared to. The act also ensures
accountability in their recording since the patient can obtain copies of the health information to
check for any mistakes. Getting a copy of their health records also is vital to individuals who