Campus Journalist 
HIPPA LAW
-By Shruthika
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a U.S. federal law passed by the Department of Health & Human Services in 1996. It is aimed at protecting the personal data of patients from public access. The mandatory compliance of HIPAA helps in preventing the misuse of this information.
HIPAA is divided into the following five titles:
- HIPAA Health Insurance Reform
- HIPAA Administrative Simplification
- HIPAA Tax-Related Health Provisions
- Application and Enforcement of Group Health Plan Requirements
- Revenue Offsets
There are two main elements in HIPAA as follows.
1. The Privacy rule
This rule protects the privacy of the personal health information of an individual. It sets limits and conditions on the further uses and disclosures of such information without the patient’s authorization.
2. The Security rule
According to this, appropriate administrative, physical, and technical measures should be adopted to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of the patients’ health information. The covered entities and business associates dealing with this protected health information (PHI) must comply with these rules.
Some of the most common HIPAA violations are
- A Non-Encrypted Lost or stolen device
- Lack Of Employment Training
- Database Breaches
- Gossiping And Sharing Phi
- Improper Disposal of Phi
HIPAA works from the premise that individuals should control their own personal health information. HIPAA has significant exceptions to allow medical care to be provided to the patient without unduly burdensome paperwork requirements.
