Understanding HIPAA Compliance Rules

Understanding HIPAA Compliance Rules
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Understanding HIPAA compliance rules
In order to ensure compliance, physicians should understand the security standards of
HIPAA. HIPAA rules demand that physicians have the obligation of securing the patient
electronic medical information (Luxton, Kayl, & Mishkind, 2012). It should be done by using a
series of procedures and mechanisms that aim at restoring the confidentiality, availability, and
integrity of the information and database security. That is to say, that the physician is
accountable for the medical information about the patient. In a case of any irregularity, the
physician will be held responsible. Medical practice location should be in a place that has enough
physical security that will provide ample protection for the electronic media, the database and
other documents (Anthony, Appari, & Johnson, 2014). The data is collected, maintained, used
and transmitted by the physician using a database. HIPAA controls the manner in which a
physician can use and disclose health information.
I feel that the HIPAA rules for data and database security and the penalties for violations
are reasonable. The penalties are grouped into four categories and fines effected effectively.
Most of what constitutes a HIPAA violation can be easily avoided by following simple data and
database security rules and regulations that have been put in place. As mentioned above, HIPAA
is a collection of security rules that aim at protecting the patient’s information. One of the
essential HIPAA database security requirements is confidentiality (Shaw, 2013). HIPAA
demands that a patient's information is kept confidential. The rule requires physicians not to
disclose medical information about the patient unless they are required to. That is to say,
adherence to the procedures and the law ensure that the information may be or may not be
disclosed. The policy is important because it helps in building trust and confidence between the
patient and the health facility.