The HIPAA or Health Information Portability and Accountability Act has made sure that every individual has a right to health insurance. HIPAA was actually created to ensure that private information of the patient is protected in relation to electronic patient records. HIPAA was passed by the Congress in 1996 and requires all healthcare organizations and professions to fulfill its requirements. HIPAA has definitely been a huge benefit to patients and healthcare organizations in terms of privacy and security of patient records. However there are certain drawbacks that need to be addressed.

– No right to file a charge:

If your privacy is violated in case of security breach, you do not have any standing to sue the healthcare organization due to their HIPAA violation. You will be required to file a charge against the Department of Health and Human Services as they are responsible to enforce the HIPAA requirements.

– Shortcomings in implementation of HIPAA rules:

There have been complaints that this act is not really enforced on the organizations and individuals who break the HIPAA security and privacy rules. Since the time this act came into existence there have been complaints from patients regarding this issue. Therefore, many individuals are apprehensive about HIPAA because they fear a breach in their privacy as rules are not properly implemented.

– Need for more staff:

The HIPAA mandates the recruitment of extra staff to enable proper fulfillment of its requirements. Healthcare organizations that are of a large size need devoted staff to ensure that privacy of patients in kept intact. As this leads to the organization spending extra money this gets transferred on to the patients in the form of a boost in their medical bills.

– Patient consent not required for insurance claims:

The HIPAA privacy rule does not require your hospital or healthcare organization to acquire your consent before contacting your insurance company to submit your claim. All they need is information about your health insurance and they can put forward a claim for pay without your consent. This leaves you no choice regarding what claims you want or don’t want to submit to your company.

– Sharing your information with others:

Billing, legal and other services may be provided by other contractors who work hand in hand with the healthcare organization. Their job requires them to have access to patient information. This is necessary and HIPAA consent is again not needed. Generally the healthcare organization will have a written agreement with the services to ensure that the patient information is protected and kept confidential. However, if there is a breach in confidentiality you will not be able to file a charge against them. All you can do is make a complaint and pray that legal action will follow. Hence it is essential you are aware about your HIPAA privacy rights so that you can take measures to alter your information, if need be, in order to protect yourself.

In spite of these drawbacks and limitations, the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act is essential for all healthcare organizations as it ensures protection of your information that is otherwise not at all possible. So all you can do is be well informed about your HIPAA rights and take ample steps to ensure that your information is safe.

For more information, please visit our HIPAA website.

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Category: Advice
Keywords: HIPAA,Health Insurance ,health information,medical data,HIPAA security rule