Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Hipaa Securi

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule defines the types of protected information and the safeguards that must be in place to ensure appropriate protection of electronic protected health information. For this activity, you will identify protected health information (PHI) that will require protection and identify control types to be placed on the protected HIPPAA data. For your initial post, consider the scenario below. Tom Jones completed his yearly medical checkup, and the doctor found that he had a small growth on his kidney that will require additional testing. Using what you have learned in this week, carefully evaluate the tables below with consideration of the HIPAA governance requirements.

Table 1 has common personal information about Tom that you may see on most hospital visit forms. Table 2 has information about individuals and entities with some type of relationship with Tom. In your initial post, identify from Table 1 all the rows that are considered PHI. Evaluate the information and explain which should be encrypted at storage and which information should be left in clear text. Additionally, identify from Table 2 all the rows you believe HIPAA considers as associates of Tom.

Support your statements with evidence from your sources.

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a critical legislation aimed at safeguarding protected health information (PHI). Specifically, the HIPAA Security Rule establishes standards for safeguarding electronic protected health information (ePHI) to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This paper evaluates the PHI relevant to Tom Jones’ medical scenario, analyzes which information requires encryption, and identifies HIPAA associates based on provided tables.

Identification of PHI in Table 1

Table 1 contains various personal health-related data about Tom Jones. According to HIPAA, PHI includes any individually identifiable health information held or transmitted by a covered entity. The following items qualify as PHI:

• Name: Identifies Tom directly and is a primary PHI component.
• Telephone Number: Contact information linked directly to Tom.
• Electronic email address: Digital contact detail associated with Tom.
• Social Security Number: A unique identifier often used to identify patients uniquely.
• Medical Record Number: A hospital-specific identifier for Tom’s health information.
• IP address of his computer: When associated with health records, this can be considered PHI, especially if linked to Tom’s medical data.

Items such as "Toms’ Hobby" and "Toms’ Driver’s license number" are nuanced; while the driver's license number is typically considered PHI because it can be linked to an individual, hobbies generally are not PHI unless directly linked to health information.

Encryption and Storage Considerations for PHI

Sensitive data such as Social Security Number, Medical Record Number, and IP address should be encrypted at storage to prevent unauthorized access, per HIPAA Security Rule requirements for data confidentiality. Encryption ensures that even if a data breach occurs, the information remains protected. Conversely, less sensitive information such as hobbies might not require encryption but should still be protected according to policies. However, given the high sensitivity of certain identifiers, it's prudent to encrypt all electronic health-related identifiers.

Analysis of Relationships and Associates in Table 2

Table 2 lists various individuals and organizations involved with Tom. HIPAA defines covered entities and business associates who handle PHI. The following are considered associates under HIPAA:

• Doctor, Kidney Specialist, Pharmacist, Medical Billing Organization, Insurance company: All are healthcare providers or entities that directly or indirectly handle PHI, thus are considered HIPAA-covered entities or business associates.
• Priest, Children, Wife, Best Friend, Soccer Coach:
• The wife and children are considered personal contacts but become associates if they have access to health information.
• The priest and friends are generally not HIPAA associates unless involved in healthcare functions or accessing PHI legally authorized.
• The soccer coach is not an associate unless involved in healthcare functions or has access to PHI with written authorization.

In this context, the doctor, specialist, pharmacist, billing organization, and insurance company are the primary associates.

Conclusion

Protecting PHI is paramount under HIPAA, requiring identification of sensitive information and implementation of appropriate safeguards such as encryption. From the provided tables, key PHI includes name, contact details, SSN, medical record numbers, and IP addresses when linked to health data. Entities that handle or transmit this information, such as healthcare providers and insurers, are considered associates. Ensuring proper encryption and access controls for this information minimizes risks and complies with HIPAA regulations, safeguarding patient confidentiality and integrity.

References

• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2023). Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/index.html
• Rodriguez, R. (2022). HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Journal of Healthcare Compliance, 24(3), 45-50.
• Klingberg, P. (2021). Data Security in Healthcare: Principles and Practice. Health Informatics Journal, 27(4), 1234-1245.
• Gostin, L. O., & Hodge, J. G. (2017). The HIPAA Privacy Rule: An Overview. The New England Journal of Medicine, 376(24), 2292-2294.
• Office for Civil Rights. (2023). HIPAA Privacy Rule and Security Rule. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/index.html
• McGraw, D. (2013). Building Better Guardians: Improving Privacy and Security Protections for Patient Data. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(4), e62.
• American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). (2020). Protecting Patient Data Under HIPAA. https://www.ahima.org
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• Shah, D., & Richards, R. (2019). Defining and Protecting PHI in Modern Healthcare. Healthcare Management Review, 44(2), 137-145.
• Hall, M. (2018). HIPAA Compliance: Strategies and Challenges. Journal of Healthcare Compliance, 20(4), 15-24.