The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was first proposed in 1996 to safeguard health insurance coverage for workers who quit their jobs or changed careers. It includes requirements and guidelines for providers and other relevant healthcare organizations to follow, transmitting and safeguarding private patient health information at the same time.
Sensitive healthcare data breaches, security and privacy are governed under HIPAA. These rules allow the healthcare sector to quickly and securely exchange and preserve patient data while safeguarding patient privacy and preventing unauthorized use or access to protected health information (PHI).
HIPAA regulations guarantee:
- Only those with authorization can access PHI.
- Upon request, patients can obtain copies of their personal records.
- PHI is protected by covered entities using appropriate administrative, technological, and physical safeguards.
- Any security breach is immediately reported and remedied by covered businesses.
What are the three main rules covered by the HIPAA Compliant Software Development, then? Let’s find out,
HIPAA Compliance: 3 Key Components
Organizations that handle protected health information (PHI) must adhere to HIPAA, which has three main requirements.
- Privacy Rule
- Security Rule
- Breach Notification Rule
Let’s examine each of them in greater detail.
Privacy Rule
The HIPAA Privacy Rule mandates trustworthy steps to protect the privacy of PHI and establishes national standards to safeguard patient medical records and other personal health information (PHI), such as summary health information. It also creates permitted acts and the necessary disclosures that apply to such data, and it grants persons rights over their health information, including the ability to access, evaluate and request adjustments to their records.
All “individually identifiable health information” in any form or media, including electronic, paper, or oral, that is maintained or communicated by a covered entity—which includes clearinghouses, health plans, and other healthcare providers—or its business associate is protected by the Privacy Rule.
To put it briefly, the Privacy Rule grants patients and their next of kin (sometimes known as “representatives”) access to their medical data while limiting the amount of information that can be released without express authorization.
Security Rule
Healthcare providers and their business associates who use electronic patient health information (ePHI) are subject to the HIPAA Security Rule, which establishes strict criteria for ePHI protection. To secure any ePHI they generate, receive, store, or transmit, they need to do the following:
- Assure the PHI’s availability, confidentiality, and integrity.
- Prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the ePHI.
- Defend the ePHI from any risks to its integrity and security.
- Employee education and enforcing adherence to the Security Rule
- Modify appropriate policies and practices
Aside from identifying potential risks to patient health information, covered entities also need to develop a risk management plan, install administrative, physical, and technical safeguards, train employees on HIPAA compliance, document the risk analysis procedure, and perform an annual risk analysis to find and address new risks.
Breach Notification Rule
A PHI breach is defined as an unauthorized use or disclosure that jeopardizes the security or privacy of PHI, and is subject to the Breach Notification Rule.
Your company must tell the impacted parties, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and, in certain situations, the media, if this occurs. Depending on how many people were impacted by the breach, different steps need to be performed in response.
Within 60 days of the end of the calendar year (March 1) in which the breach was found, the impacted patients and HHS OCR must be informed if the incident affects fewer than 500 people.
Within 60 days of being aware of the breach, the HHS OCR, the impacted patients, and the media must be informed if 500 patients or more are impacted. Additionally, it will be shown to the public on the OCR breach portal.
Alerts only need to be sent for unsecured PHI, even though all unauthorized uses and disclosures constitute a breach of PHI.
When PHI is rendered unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals, it is deemed secure. This is achieved when electronic health information (ePHI) is encrypted in accordance with the HIPAA Security Rule and/or when the medium used to store or record PHI is destroyed.
If a breach satisfies the following requirements, the Breach Notification Rule is likewise accommodating:
- Was done in good faith or unintentionally, and stayed within the bounds of authority
- Was inadvertently carried out between two individuals authorized to view the PHI
- If the organization believes in good faith that the individual to whom the information was disclosed won’t be able to keep the PHI
Conclusion
HIPAA compliance, which includes a broad range of rules and laws intended to protect patient privacy, guarantee the security of electronic health information, and encourage administrative simplification, is a crucial component of the healthcare sector.
Ever since its establishment, HIPAA has played a crucial role in safeguarding private health information, encouraging public confidence in the healthcare system, improving telemedicine app development and increasing overall effectiveness.
Healthcare software development services can comply with legal obligations and enhance the security, patient-centeredness and efficiency of the healthcare environment by following HIPAA standards.
