The rules apply to covered entities, such as doctors, nurses, medical office staff, and insurance companies. But gossiping about a patient after they leave the office can be a violation. Both are bad and can warrant penalties, but intentional violations are more serious. Stealing patient information or accessing it inappropriately is a crime.
This can include getting patient information with the intent to sell it to a third party. Examples of this theft include downloading protected health information PHI to a personal computer or using PHI to commit credit card fraud. People have gone to jail for those and similar crimes. Then, you can avoid being guilty of stealing patient information.
Another major crime under HIPAA is the wrongful disclosure of patient information, usually with the intent to harm someone. When this happens, a person knowingly uses a unique health identifier, like a name or social security number. If the information the person obtains or discloses comes from a covered entity, they can face severe punishment. People can face fines and jail time, and the amount can vary.
If the purpose of the offense is to use the PHI for harm or personal gain, the penalty will be even greater. Factors that affect penalties include how serious the offense was and if it was an accident. If a violation goes on without any correction, it can also lead to a harsher punishment.
The first category of violations includes those where the covered entity could not prevent the violation. To fall under this category, the covered entity has to do whatever they can to protect PHI.
If someone should have been aware of the violation, it would fall into the next group. Physical regulations were put into place to prevent physical theft and loss of devices containing PHI. Technical regulations were put into place to protect your networks and devices from data breaches and unauthorized access to patient files. First of all, every covered entity should have an in-house privacy officer. If you do not have the resources to hire someone like a manager or higher-up for this role, someone already within the organization can decide to take it on.
Once the privacy officer has been notified, they will conduct an investigation and do a risk assessment. There is also a mandatory two-year jail term for aggravated identity theft. To prevent any dispute about whether appropriate training has been provided, employers are required to document what training has been provided, when it was provided, and who attended.
This depends on the circumstances, how much information was disclosed, and whether it had a negative impact on the patient. Covered Entities and Business Associates are required to implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent events such as computer errors. If the inadvertent disclosure is attributable to a Covered Entity or Business Associate failing to implement safeguards — or failing to provide instruction on how to use the computer securely — the employer is at fault.
But what happens if a breach occurs? The U. Title II is key to our discussion as it sets the policies and procedures for safeguarding protected health information PHI. Breaches can occur in a variety of ways, whether intentional or unintentional, due to negligence or an accident. Throughout , cyberattacks were a daily occurrence. In fact, the healthcare industry was heavily targeted, even more so because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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