Health Insurance Portability

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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 to protect employees’ health insurance coverage when they lose or change jobs. It also has provisions that ensure the privacy and confidentiality of identifiable health information. Although, portability and access to health care are integral parts of HIPAA, the section of the Act that addresses the privacy of the patients' information is most relevant to my daily activity at work. According to the HHS web page, the 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 …show more content…
For example, there signs around the Medical center that reminds employees not to violate patients' privacy by discussing patients' issues in public areas of the hospital. Additionally, there are reminders for all employees to log off computers, should they decide to walk away from the computer they signed on to. Above all the medical center have created an annual mandatory HIPAA competency test for all employees of the Medical Center and new employees also lecture on the importance of keeping all our patients’ information …show more content…
Moreover, I believe that HIPAA has made the employees in my workplace more cognizant of the importance of our patients’ privacy, and each employee is fully aware of the consequences of not adhering to the Act. Subsequently, the culture at the medical center is that an employee having a judgment lapse about patients’ privacy is immediately reminded by others about the rule. On another note, the Benedictine Hallmark of community service for the common good and respect for individuals is in line with HIPAA in its entirety; it encourages the selfless participation in the well-being of all through fostering of the common good and compassion, such as concerns for a person’s well-being, security, and development within the society. In a nutshell, community spirit does not disregard an important Act, such as HIPAA, because certain health information or documents in the wrong hands can create havoc in families. Overall, the Act has certainly enhanced the protection of patients’ information across the nation. However, it has its cons, cons such as increased cost and labor, restrictions and misinterpretation of the act that may slow down the passing of information. However, I believe the benefit of HIPAA outweighs its cons and the enactment of HIPAA is a victory for the patients’ advocacy
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