HIPAA

Protecting Patients HIPAA Privacy Standards
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the Standards for Privacy Individually Identifiable for Health Information under the health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to provide the first comprehensive Federal protection for the privacy of personal health care information.

The Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) privacy regulations went into effect on April 14, 2003.

Health plans and healthcare providers are all affected by the regulations. This means we must all evaluate how we obtain, store, retrieve and communicate personal health information about members and patients. Priority Health has always been committed to protecting the confidentiality of our members’ personal and medical information in all settings. We have a special committee dedicated to monitoring all of our processes and procedures to protect this important information. Our Notice of Privacy Practices can be found at priorityhealth.com or is available upon request.

While the privacy regulations are more complex than can be addressed in one article, here are some helpful hints for using passwords to protect the security, privacy and integrity of patient records kept in computer systems. Passwords are not specifically required under HIPPA, but are commonly recommended by HIPPA experts. When setting a password.

• Avoid using names that are easily associated with an individual.
• Avoid using AIP codes or telephone numbers.
• Use alpha-numeric passwords that include special characters.
• For purposes of accountability, do not share passwords.
• Do not post a password near the computer terminal.
• Change passwords periodically.

For additional information, visit these Department of Health and Human Services web pages:

http://aspe.hhs.gov/datacncl/adminsim.shtml
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa