HIPAA was passed in 1996 to protect patient privacy and confidentiality. It requires industry standards be followed for electronic health information and billing processes. Failure to comply can result in civil or criminal penalties. Patient confidentiality is important to build trust in the physician-patient relationship and encourage patients to seek care honestly. Confidentiality can be breached if necessary to report legal issues or protect others, but otherwise privacy is a basic right in healthcare that providers are ethically and legally obligated to uphold.

1. PATIENT
CONFIDENTIALITY
SEMINAR
LAKISHA MOORE
ASHFORD UNIVERSITY MHA 690
WEEK 1 DISCUSSION 2

2. HIPAA

3. What is HIPAA?
 The acronym for HIPAA
stands for Health Insurance
Portability and
Accountability Act, which
was passed by Congress in
1996.

4. What does HIPAA Provide?
 Provides the ability to transfer and continue health
insurance coverage for millions of American workers
and their families when they change or lose their
jobs;
 Reduces health care fraud and abuse;
 Mandates industry-wide standards for health care
information on electronic billing and other processes;
and
 Requires the protection and confidential handling of
protected health information

5. HIPAA Violations and
Enforcement
Failure to comply with HIPAA can result in civil
and criminal penalties. The American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act was signed as a law on
February 17, 2009, which enforces civil penalty
structure for HIPAA violations.

6. Patient Confidentiality

7. What is Patient Confidentiality
Confidentiality is the core duties of medical
practice. Health care providers protect the
patient’s personal health information and to keep
patients records private unless consent to release
the information is provided by the patient.

8. Why is Confidentiality
Important?
Patients share their personal information among
health care providers. If confidentiality were
breached between the patient and the physician
then the relationship would be diminished.
Building trust between the patient and physician
builds respect for patient privacy encourages the
patient to seek care and to be honest as possible
during the course of a health care visit.

9. When can confidentiality be
breached?
 Concern for the safety of other specific persons
 Legal requirements to report certain conditions or circumstances
 A Test for Breach of Confidentiality

10. Conclusion
 Privacy and confidentiality are basic rights in our society.
Safeguarding those rights, with respect to an individual’s personal
health information, is our ethical and legal obligation as health care
providers. Doing so in today’s health care environment is increasingly
challenging.

11. Reference
Erickson, J., Millar, S. (May 31, 2005). “Caring for
Patients While Respecting Their Privacy:
Renewing Our Commitment.” OJIN: The Online
Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 10 No. 2,
Manuscript 1.