Saint Mary's Health Care HIPAA General Information
What is HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was designed
to improve the portability and continuity of health care coverage
in the group and individual insurance markets and to improve
protections against fraud and abuse within the industry.
Significant provisions of the Act are considered "Administrative
Simplification" regulations that set standards for the privacy
of protected individual health information, the electronic
transmissions of health information and the security
of this information. HIPAA will require changes in how health
care information is handled, transferred and stored within
the institution. It will require ongoing review and modification
of systems, policies, procedures and most importantly behavior.
What does it mean for patients?
For patients the enactment of HIPAA is intended to provide
more information with which to make informed choices when
seeking health care and a better understanding of how their
personal health information may be used. HIPAA gives patients
the right to examine and request copies of their own health
records, request corrections and to find out if and how their
personal health information has been used for purposes other
than treatment.
What does HIPAA mean for hospitals?
Hospital compliance with HIPAA is NOT optional. Penalties
for failing to comply with regulatory requirements or for
the wrongful disclosure of protected health information can
be severe with fines and prison sentences resulting from the
most serious violations.
It is also hoped that compliance with HIPAA guidelines will
provide health care institutions with improved administrative
efficiencies, reduced paperwork by promotion of electronic
standards, reduced costs in the long run and more assurance
that the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of health
care information is safeguarded.
What is Saint Mary's Health Care doing about
HIPAA?
At Saint Mary's the privacy and confidentiality of our patient's
personal health information is taken very seriously. Policies
and procedures are already in place to help assure the privacy
of those who seek care in our institution. The HIPAA guidelines
will assist us in fine tuning our privacy and confidentiality
policies to better serve our patients. As a member of the
Trinity Health system Saint Mary's is involved in the overall
corporate efforts designed to address and reach compliance
with the HIPAA regulations. Current efforts to address HIPAA
are focused on disseminating the information and tools to
assist the various departments in the hospital in their efforts
to work toward full compliance.
To assist in coordinating activities related to reaching
full compliance with the HIPAA guidelines, Saint Mary's has
recently appointed an Organizational Integrity/HIPAA Manager,
who serves as the hospital's HIPAA site coordinator. In addition,
the hospital has formed the Saint Mary's HIPAA Implementation
Team. The HIPAA implementation Team will work with Senior
Management to see that all aspects of the HIPAA guidelines
are carried out at Saint Mary's Health Care.
Where do I learn more about HIPAA?
For more information about HIPAA and its impact on you and
your personal health information please feel free to contact
the Organizational Integrity/HIPAA Manager at 685-6164 or
check out the following internet web sites.
Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS)
U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services
|
