HIPAA Enforcement and Privacy Rules

Enforcement of the Privacy Rule began in April 14, 2003, for many of the HIPAA covered entities with the HHS Office for Civil Rights who were authorized to enforce the Privacy and Security Rules. The covered entities’ privacy practices enforced by the activities of the OCR were leveraged and experienced improved results. The protection and privacy of health information of individuals were systematized with the corrective rules of the OCR that were exercised by covered entities and this resulted in improvement and HIPAA enforcement. With the requirement of complying with the HIPAA Security Rule that was established on April 20, 2005, the OCR was chosen as the authorized agent for the enforcement of the Security Rule on July 27, 2009. 

The covered entities range over healthcare providers such as dentists, clinics, nursing homes, psychologists, nursing homes, chiropractors, pharmacies transmitting information and transacting through an electronic format designed by HHS standards. The Health Plan is rendered through services by HMOs, health insurance companies, healthcare paid by government programs evolving over Medicaid, Medicare, veterans’ health care programs and the military. It is important to note that the processing of health information by healthcare clearing entities are received from yet another entity following a stipulated electronic format.

The HIPAA Rule ranges over the Privacy Rule or the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information. In order to implement the HIPAA standards or the Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the HHS has enforced the Privacy Rule. This Privacy Rule stipulated that the usage of health information that pertains to the disclosure and use of an individual’s health insurance which is otherwise known as protected health information and the control of violations should be exercised. Coming under the umbrella of the HHS, the Office for Civil Rights or the OCR should be responsible for enforcing, implementing and upholding the Privacy Rule which when violated would call for civil money penalties. With flexibility being one of the aspects of the Privacy Rule, the enforcement has a balanced outlook to the various kinds of uses and disclosures. With the Administrative Simplification provisions addressing the security, privacy and standards for the electronic exchange of health information administered by the Secretary of HHS Sections 261 through 264 of HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Public Law 104-191 was enacted on August 21, 1996.

For more information, visit http://www.usmedicaltranscriptionservice.com/ or call 1-800-723-4308