How Hipaa Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process

Running head: HOW HIPAA VIOLATIONS AFFECT THE MEDICAL BILLING How HIPAA Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process Brenda Beaver Axia Of UOP How HIPAA Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process HIPAA confidentiality is important for very patient but for some reasons when they hear someone has HIV or AIDS it gives them the right to talk about it with others which have no reason to know. I will show why it is so important to be sensitive to this type of health conditions. Will examine the social, legal, and ethical ramifications of improper information disclosure. HIPAA affects the billing process by making sure that patient demographics are accurate and kept confidential. There should be in the patient’s file an†¦show more content†¦Confidentiality Issues: all patient information must be kept confidential and shared only with the appropriate staff involved in the care of the patient. Patient records must be kept out of sight so that for example the cleaning crew cannot look at it and other patients cannot view it. Discussing the case with anyone outside the medical office. HIPAA is for the protection, us e, and disclosure of protected health information (Ramutkowski, Booth, Pugh, Thompson, , 2008). People that have AIDS or HIV are more sensitive to sharing their health information than others because it could cost them their job. The people that contract these diseases are subject to scrutiny from the public. Since people automatically think that they are gay or lesbian but they are not the only ones that can get HIV or AIDS. When a person is revealed to have HIV or AIDS, he or she may be immediately discriminated against. HIV and AIDS require lifetime treatment that is very expensive to treat (HHS.gov, 2006). Unauthorized disclosure of a person’s positive HIV or AIDS status can lead to job loss; cancellation of insurance; evictions; and loss of friends and colleagues. The United States has developed a set of standards to keep a person’s HIV or AIDS status confidential as well as their other medical conditions. This is called the Health Insurance Portability and Accoun tability Act of 1996. All information is kept private from anyone except that person aShow MoreRelatedHow Hipaa Violations Affect the Medical Billing Process1652 Words   |  7 PagesHow HIPAA Violations Affect The Medical Billing Process HCR/220 September 23. 2012 How HIPAA Violations Affect The Medical Billing Process HIV and AIDS are two very serious diseases which first came known and reported in the U.S. in 1981. Today it is estimated that 1.7 million people in the U.S. have been infected with HIV since that date 619,000 people have already died from it. The CDC, (Center For Disease Control) estimates that every one in five people living with HIV, are unaware thatRead MoreThe Affordable Care Act Of The United States1086 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Affordable Care Act regarding the billing of medical claims. According to Palmer (n.d.), many medical professionals feel the Affordable Care Act piles on unnecessary problems regarding billing and reimbursement tasks. The Affordable Care Act is trying to improve the timing of reimbursement and also revenue management, needless to say, different practices, hospitals and medical billing companies are under more scrutiny to streamline the billing process. Palmer (n.d.) also stated that criticsRead MoreThe Implementation Of The Compliance Plan1313 Words   |  6 Pages Introduction. Here at O’Kelly Medical Practice it is our goal to maintain an effective compliance plan that is in accordance with the compliance program guidance that is set by the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of this compliance plan is to avoid and identify any violations of both law and company policy (hcma-consulting.com). Compliance Plan Objectives. The basic objectives to this compliance plan are as follows. The first is to preventRead MorePatient Rights And The Hipaa Privacy Rule1978 Words   |  8 PagesNancy J. Long 823 S. George St, Front York, PA 17403 ID# 22421209 Law and Ethics for Medical Careers HIT 105 Research project number: 40936500 Patient Rights and the HIPAA Privacy Rule According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services many consumers want to engage in a more active role concerning their health care, therefore, it is important to know what rights you have in obtaining and protecting (called the right to access) your personal health information (Department of SecretaryRead MoreLaw And Ethics Of Medicine1860 Words   |  8 PagesNancy J Long 823 S. George St, Front York, PA 17403 ID# 22421209 Law and Ethics in Medicine HIT 105 Research project number: 40936500 1) Does HIPAA affect a patient’s right to access his/her medical records or determine who can see the information? If so, describe the patient’s right. What can a patient do if he/she believes the rights are being denied? According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services many consumers want to engage in a more active role with regards to their healthRead MoreThe Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 1032 Words   |  5 PagesThe Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) affects every aspect of health care from patient privacy to insurance coverage. The federal act was first passed in 1996, yet the first major rule did not go into effect until 2003, protecting patient privacy. HIPAA ultimately came into effect due to the issues regarding patient privacy, security and coverage. Another major concern for both health care workers and the public was the exchange of patient information from oneRead MoreHealthcare Claims and Processing1600 Words   |  7 PagesInsurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPAA) and its impact on healthcare claims processing. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 was created, in part, to make health insurance portable in an attempt to address the problem of the growing amount of people that are uninsured and underinsured (NASW,2002). The Act allows a person with preexisting medical issues to get health insurance when changing jobs. HIPAA also addressed healthcare fraud and abuse. A significantRead MoreHealth Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Of 19962025 Words   |  9 Pagessection of this act that has a pervasive effect on health plans, billing agencies, information systems vendors, and other providers. Within the provisions of this section, HIPAA requires improved efficiency in healthcare delivery by standardized in electronic data interchange (EDI) and protection of confidentiality and security of health data through setting and enforcing standards. (HIPAA). . Accreditation is the evaluation process in healthcare systems that ensure that it is conduc ting businessRead MoreI Will Define Hipaa Law2049 Words   |  9 Pagesinitiated it, when it was initiated, the goals of the EHR, and how the Affordable Care Act and the Obama administration are tied into it. Then I will show evidence of research and discuss the six steps of this process as well as my facilities progress with EHR. Then I will describe meaningful use and how my facility attained it. Finally, I will define HIPAA law, the possible threats to patient confidentiality relating to EHR, and how what my facility is doing to prevent patient confidentiality fromRead MoreA Laptop Belonging At Kaiser Permanentes Stolen From An Employees Car1573 Words   |  7 Pagesimplementing safeguards/regulatory guidelines to protect patient information. According to Smith (2000) â€Å"Threats to medical record privacy include: (a) administrative actions such as errors that release, misclassify, lose information or compromise accuracy; (b) misuse by users; and (c) uncontrolled access to t he medical record. Heath care computerization is an increased threat to medical record privacy through enabling the storage of large amounts of data in small places. Therefore, when an intruder