Healthcare Portability and Accountability

Healthcare Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
Locate your nursing home’s HIPAA Privacy and Security policies and your state rules regarding medical information privacy practices and medical recording retention and respond to the following:

Healthcare Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
Locate your nursing home’s HIPAA Privacy and Security policies and your state rules regarding medical information privacy practices and medical recording retention and respond to the following:

1. Provide an electronic copy of your nursing home’s HIPAA Privacy Notice. After reviewing this policy, discuss any practices that your nursing home has implemented to safeguard resident privacy. If you are not currently associated with a nursing home, locate a HIPAA Privacy Notice from your physician or a local health care provider and discuss how you would implement practices to ensure patient privacy.

2. Provide an electronic copy of your nursing home record retention policy. If you are not associated with a nursing home, create a record retention policy based on your state’s laws. Remember, Medicare mandates that medical records be kept for 5 years, but many states have laws with higher standards.

3. Why would mental health, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS-related health care information be held to a higher privacy standard than other types of health care?

4. Review the HIPAA Privacy website. Locate the section on fines, penalties, and sanctions. What are the possible outcomes for a HIPAA Privacy Violation (fines, sanctions, and criminal/civil findings). Please be specific.

5. Explain the following:
a.Who is responsible for the accuracy and completion of the medical records in the nursing home?
b.What requirements exist in your state nursing home regulations regarding medical records?
c.What are some of the key components of accurate medical records documentation?
d.Are there any special considerations for electronic medical record storage and management?
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SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS – although i would like APA format there does not have to be any running header – The title page should just read as follows – (no title or running header needed)

Stacey Britto
LTC 352.Long Term Care Laws and Regulations
Professor Steven Chies
Assignment #5

Each Question 1 through 5 above must be included in the paper ( copied and pasted ) – after each question the answer is to be addressed. So rather then a free flowing paper each question is answered as separate entities. eg copy and paste question 1 and then answer it..copy and paste question 2 – answer it etc on question 5 there is also and a. b. c. and d. each should be answered under #5 and then each separate letter question 5 a. – 5b. etc..

I do not work in a nursing home so please base this paper as requested in the above assignment for an individual who does not work in a nursing facility. I live in the State of RI and would like this assignment based on the Federal and state laws / rules and regulations for the state of RI for the questions above. .. thank you
Here are my lecture notes as well.
ecture Notes
The purpose of this lesson is to provide you with information about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued two rules in conjunction with HIPAA:

1. The Privacy Rule (effective 2003)

2. The Security Rule (effective 2005)

The Privacy Rule standards address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information, called “protected health information” (PHI). Organizations subject to the Privacy Rule are called “covered entities”. HIPAA established national standards for individuals’ privacy rights to understand and control how their health information is used. Within HHS, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has responsibility for implementing and enforcing the Privacy Rule with respect to voluntary compliance activities and civil money penalties.

A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to assure that individuals’ health information is properly protected, while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high-quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well-being. The Privacy Rule strikes a balance that permits important uses of information while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and healing. Given that the health care marketplace is diverse, the rule is designed to be flexible and comprehensive to cover the variety of uses and disclosures that need to be addressed (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2013).

HIPAA established a national standard of health care privacy, and it has transformed the privacy of medical information dramatically. Many states have their own set of laws surrounding medical information confidentiality. If a state law is more restrictive than HIPAA, then the state law prevails. Otherwise, states must follow HIPAA. It is important to be aware of your state medical privacy and confidentiality laws.

The HIPAA Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information (the Security Rule) established a national set of security standards for protecting certain health information that is held or transferred in electronic form. The Security Rule operationalizes the protections contained in the Privacy Rule. Prior to HIPAA, no generally accepted set of security standards or general requirements for protecting health information existed in the health care industry. At the same time, new technologies were evolving, and the health care industry began to move away from paper processes and rely more heavily on the use of electronic information systems to pay claims, answer eligibility questions, provide health information, and conduct a host of other administrative and clinically based functions. Today, providers are using clinical applications such as electronic health records (EHR) and are providing electronic access to claims and care management as well as member self-service applications. While this means that the medical workforce can be more mobile and efficient, the rise in use of these technologies increases the potential security risks. A major goal of the Security Rule is to protect the privacy of individuals’ health information while allowing adoption of new technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care. The Security Rule was designed to be flexible and to adapt to changing technology.

OCR may impose penalties for a failure to comply with a requirement of the Privacy Rule. Penalties will vary significantly depending on factors such as the date of the violation, whether the covered entity knew or should have known of the failure to comply, or whether the covered entity’s failure to comply was due to willful neglect. Civil monetary penalties are substantial and can range from $100 to $50,000 per violation.

Medical record management is a key element of health care and ultimately the responsibility of the nursing home administrator. While the facility owns this medical record, a resident (and/or their legal representative) has a right to access all of the information in the medical record. HIPAA sets rules in regard to providing patients with copies of their health record information for an acceptable fee, meaning the normal charge for photocopying in the community. Awareness of record retention laws is important. Medicare mandates that medical records be kept for 5 years, and many states have laws with higher standards.

Mental health, substance abuse, and HIV and AIDS-related health care information is held to a higher privacy and confidentiality standard. Residents retain the right to restrict access in these categories.

Nursing homes have a high degree of responsibility and liability around safeguarding health care information. All facilities must train their staff in the HIPAA privacy and security standards and must have written policies. Nursing home administrators have the ultimate responsibility to ensure resident records, and PHI are kept confidential and secure.

The medical record, as stated previously, is not a public document. Its primary goal is continuity of care. Charting by professionals must be current, truthful, and accurate. Good quality documentation will be objective and fact based, not subjective or emotion based. What is written may someday be used as part of legal proceedings. Documentation must be timely. In paper records, corrections are made by drawing a line through the error and initialing the deletion. A correction should be made, including the date and time. Late entries or changes to an electronic medical record should follow facility policy and legal requirements. A person with applicable training may be placed in charge of maintaining the medical records at the delegation of the administrator.

Residents must be informed in writing of all care and treatments. The admission/initial consent may include the general plan and services of the facility. In the situation of medical or surgical procedures, the patient and/or their responsible party must be provided risk versus benefit information, explanation of expected outcomes, and give written permission in the form of informed consent. If he/she cannot understand the procedure, he/she should be allowed to ask questions. Medical consent must be in the language of the resident.

Most of us believe that our medical and other health information is private and should be protected, and we want to know who has this information. The Privacy Rule gives residents rights over their health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive their health information. The Security Rule is a federal law that requires security for health information in electronic form. It is the responsibility of the administrator to be knowledgeable about HIPAA and to ensure that all employees are fully aware of these rules and how to comply with them.