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HIPAA is revolutionizing American health
care. All health care providers, large and small, must follow
HIPAA regulations, and there are many of them. An awareness
of heightened security and privacy issues in an online world
resulted in the passage of the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). It authorized the
federal government to establish a national standard for medical
record privacy, recognizing the increased vulnerability to
abuse of medical data in an internet-connected world. It is
one of the most complex statutes with which most ordinary
businesses and professionals will ever have to cope.
Originally designed to provide for the portability and renewal
of health insurance coverage to those already with such coverage
when changing jobs or health insurers, it grew and eventually
became the first federal intervention into the private health
insurance sector, with the goal of protecting patient privacy.
Privacy isn't possible without adequate electronic and physical
security, so that became part of the HIPAA regulation package
too. HIPAA also addresses research, marketing and health informatics,
and in fact, it isn't finished growing yet. Further refinements
are expected. Keeping up with developments isn’t easy.
For that matter, for many, just understanding specifically
what the law requires right now is a challenge.
The Privacy Rule went into effect in April of 2003. The deadline
for implementation of the security rule is 2005 (2006 for
small and rural covered entities). However, implementing a
plan as quickly as possible is prudent. This minimizes liability
under HIPAA's privacy rule and under state law. Penalties
in a worst case scenario can be severe and can include both
civil and criminal sanctions.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Hollander and Company LLC already has considerable experience
in software, security, and contract law, which positions it
to be able to offer superior HIPAA services to our clients,
whether the need is for HIPAA information and counseling on
compliance with the privacy and security regulations of HIPAA,
creation of contracts for your business associates, or representation
in litigation.
To assist in providing quality comprehensive consulting HIPAA
services, Hollander and Company LLC has been selected as HIPAA
legal counsel by MedAbiliti Software, Inc., in support of
its customized HIPAA solutions. Further information on this
innovative program is available on our Alliances page.
To help keep our clients abreast of developments in this fast-changing
field, we provide links to useful HIPAA resources, as well
as a breaking news section, on our HIPAA
page.
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