HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This act consists of a set of standards that were created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It was signed into law on August 21, 1996 with an effective date of April 14, 2003.
These standards were created to streamline the flow of information in the healthcare system and to protect confidential health information from inappropriate access, use, and disclosure. HIPAA regulations apply to any healthcare provider that creates or maintains health information, or that engages in electronic transactions or health plans.
Your rights and the privacy of your health care information are important to us. Some of your rights under HIPPA that we’d like you to be aware of include:
- Confidentiality
- Access to your protected healthcare information
- The rights to copy, amend, and restrict your protected healthcare information
- The right to complain to the Secretary of Health and Human Services about how your health
- An accounting of certain types of disclosures
As part of our compliance with HIPAA, we will provide you with a Notice of Privacy Practices and ask you to sign a form acknowledging your receipt of the Notice. We are always glad to answer any of your questions about our privacy practices or your rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.