{"id":4204,"date":"2013-10-07T07:00:42","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T15:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/formtek.com\/blog\/?p=4204"},"modified":"2013-11-12T02:25:34","modified_gmt":"2013-11-12T10:25:34","slug":"hipaa-deadline-looms-for-complying-with-updated-patient-privacy-regulations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formtek.com\/blog\/hipaa-deadline-looms-for-complying-with-updated-patient-privacy-regulations\/","title":{"rendered":"HIPAA: Deadline Looms for Complying with Updated Patient Privacy Regulations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The HIPAA omnibus rule<\/a> is a recent update to the HIPAA regulations originally established in 1996. HIPAA is designed to protect the privacy of patients.<\/p>\n

The Department of Health and Human Services published online<\/a> that “This final omnibus rule marks the most sweeping changes to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules since they were first implemented. These changes not only greatly enhance a patient\u2019s privacy rights and protections, but also strengthen the ability of my office to vigorously enforce the HIPAA privacy and security protections, regardless of whether the information is being held by a health plan, a health care provider, or one of their business associates.”<\/p>\n

The new HIPAA omnibus rule gives authority to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights the right to pursue complaints made against health plans and health care professionals that don’t conform to the law. The law prohibits the use of personal health information to be sold or used for marketing and fundraising purposes without permission from the patient. It also gives patients the right to be able to request an electronic copy of their health records and prohibits the release of the information to health insurance companies.<\/p>\n

September 23, 2013 is the deadline for setting up compliance with the new HIPAA health data security regulations. The maximum penalty for a violation will be $1.5 million per violation under the new rule. Contractors, subcontractors and other business associates<\/em> of healthcare entities that process health insurance claims will also potentially be liable for any breach of private patient information. Under the new rules, IT vendors involved with the management and storage of patient data can share in the liability associated with a data breach because IT vendors are considered to be a Business Associates (BA).<\/p>\n

HHS estimates that healthcare organizations will spend 32.8 million hours complying with the new HIPAA omnibus rules. Of that time, about 30 million hours are spent just in the dissemination and acknowledgement of privacy practices to patients at the provider’s office.<\/p>\n

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The HIPAA omnibus rule is a recent update to the HIPAA regulations originally established in 1996. HIPAA is designed to protect the privacy of patients. The Department of Health and Human Services published online that “This final omnibus rule marks…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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