Verified Document

Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act HIPAA  Essay

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Discuss whether there has been a violation of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?

There are no court rulings that can shed light on the issue. However going by the given facts, it is as follows: "Dr. Williams shows Joan's medical records to a friend for advice. His friend tells Dr. Williams to contact his medical malpractice insurance carrier." The problem here is if the friend is also a medical practitioner, attorney or some person exempted under the act for disclosure. The issue is not clear. It is assumed that the friend is also a medical practitioner. In that case Williams can take a stand that there has been no violation of the act if the doctor passed on the information for consultation purposes, and this is very clear from section 45 CFR 160.103 according to which a business associate could be" legal; actuarial; accounting; consulting;" and so on. (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2003a)

It also extends to laboratory technicians, and lawyers and insurers. The culpability comes if the information was disclosed to a third party who did not have an association with the entity- the clinic and was permitted to access the information. In such cases where the physician discloses information to another person who may be entitled to view the information then the issue of culpability does not arise. The privacy rule imposes conditions for the disclosure of medical information but it does not restrict the use of information or treatment, payment, and for public health purposes. (Chaikind, 2004)

On account of this if the information was given to the friend on a consultation basis there is no offence committed if it did not include passing...

Thus assuming that the friend was a competent medical personnel entitled to receive and advice on the issue, for example the firms lawyer, or insurance officer, Williams commits no offence. "A primary care provider may send a copy of an individual's medical record to a specialist who needs the information to treat the individual." Like wise they may also disclose health information to another covered entity or a health care provider, and in some cases for consultation. (Krause, 2012)
Except these other type of disclosures require the individual's authorization as per sec 45 CFR 164.508(a)(2) of the act. On the other hand if the friend is a stranger to the system, and the disclosure is made to him then Williams committed an offence. The rule thus is to protect the privacy of the patient as far as possible. The law however has made ample exceptions to this for operational feasibility.

2) If Dr. Williams is in violation of HIPAA, might he be subject to criminal prosecution and, if found guilty, what penalties might he face?

In 2010, the Supreme Court decision in Skilling v. United States, declared that the mail and wire fraud cases may be "premised on violations of the "intangible right to honest services," has the potential to alter the future of health care fraud litigation." (Krause, 2012) The disclosure of patient information often leads to stigma for the patients in some cases -- as in the case of patients suffering from AIDS or some form of mental problems. The problem in the issue is the kickbacks that are…

Sources used in this document:
References

Chaikind, Hinda R. (2004) "The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability ACT

(Hipaa): Overview and Analyses" Nova Publishers.

Krause, Joan H. (2012) "Kickbacks, Honest Services, and Health Care Fraud after Skilling"

Annals of Health Law, vol. 21, no. 1, 2012, pp: 41-43.
Retrieved 22 November, 2012 from http://www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw/perspectives/2007/(DM)HIPAACrimCharges.pdf
Information Policy" Retrieved 22 November, 2012 from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/coveredentities/businessassociates.html
Rule" Retrieved 22 November, 2012 from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/index.html
Payment, and Health Care Operations" Retrieved 22 November, 2012 from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/coveredentities/usesanddisclosuresortpo.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA
Words: 1617 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Health Information Portability Accounting Act (HIPAA, went into effect the first quarter of 2003. Indeed, HIPAA creates federally mandated requirements regarding protected health information (PHI) that can impact any employer, regardless of its size, location or industry. Government estimates place the price tag for compliance within the public and private sectors at an estimated $22 billion. While the Privacy Rules were not aimed at regulating non-medical employers, employers who sponsor

HIPAA the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of...
Words: 1860 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and Recent Changes On August 21, 1996 a new law was signed called the Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act of 1996, which is abbreviated as HIPPA (HEP-C, 2003 & Regence, 2003). The law guarantees many things to American workers, including continuous healthcare coverage for people who are changing jobs (DC, 2003). HIPPA also includes a provision that details the manner

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Words: 5161 Length: 12 Document Type: Term Paper

("Protecting the Privacy of Patients' Health Information," n. d.) the variations HIPAA necessitates would be sufficient and the changes would be accompanied by remarkable uneasiness in several respects. Functioning in the type of high-security setting visualized by the proposed HIPAA security regulations would imply functioning under regular surveillance and with concentration to making medical record information as being secure. Whether in relation to paper or electronic form, information relating

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Words: 2492 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

High Insurance Portability Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act Some hope was given for the current legal environment to become better defined for health-care providers when Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed by the in 1996. As previously mentioned, HIPAA is a monumental act that attempts to address and incorporate all three issues-- privacy, confidentiality, and security within one law. When HIPAA was passed, many applauded the portability aspects

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA
Words: 646 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 provided for the better management of health information as well as increased health coverage for target entities. Of particular emphasis the law has is the privacy and security of health information. Prior to the implementation of HIPAA, there was an ad hoc management of health information and health coverage is very limited. Often disparate policies and standards are used from

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Words: 1535 Length: 5 Document Type: Thesis

The dilemma is often easier to resolve once those emotions and assumptions are put into their rightful context. For this paper, critical thinking came into play was logic. It is understood that initially the nursing profession had issues with HIPAA. These issues were practical, however, and when the law was matched up against the underlying principles and the Code of Ethics, it became apparent that the guidelines that can be

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now