QUICK HIPAA FACT SHEET
This quick HIPAA fact sheet will point you in the right direction! Did you know HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was created in 1996? HIPAA is designed to maintain strict privacy over an individual’s health records.
Other acronyms you need to know for HIPAA compliance: PII (Personally Identifiable Information), EPHI (Electronic Protected Health Information) or just PHI (Protected Health Information).
HIPAA’s Goal:
To increase the privacy of medical and related information by controlling who has access to it. If you’re a healthcare professional, you are required to understand and follow HIPAA.
Examples of PHI:
Patient name, address, date of birth, phone number, medical record number, Social Security number, email, and diagnosis.
Who Has to Follow HIPAA?
Health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers. As of January 2013, with the addition of HITECH, HIPAA also now applies to lawyers, consultants, contractors, cloud providers, software vendors, and more.
How Does This Impact You?
HIPAA affects everyone in the U.S. You should know how your PHI is being handled by any healthcare entity and how you should handle PHI should it come up in your job.
What happens if HIPAA isn’t followed?
Obtaining PHI with the intent to sell, transfer, or use for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm:
10 YEARS IMPRISONMENT
$250,000 FINE.
Obtaining PHI under
false pretenses:
5 YEARS IMPRISONMENT
$100,000 FINE.
Knowingly obtaining or disclosing PHI in violation of the Administrative Simplification Regulations:
1 YEARS IMPRISONMENT
$50,000 FINE.
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