How to Compare FERPA to HIPAA

The US Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996. The act was meant to improve the quality and effectiveness of the US Health Care System. The main driver of this was a push towards electronic data transactions. Another act referred to as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is also meant to improve the quality of healthcare transactions through improved security and privacy policies. Understanding the difference between the two can be challenging.

Instructions

• 1

  Compare the history behind both Acts. FERPA is the older Act, and was enacted in 1974, while HIPAA did not come along until 1996 with the advent of electronic transactions.

• 2

  Compare who FERPA applies to and who HIPAA applies to. FERPA only applies when a student's medical records are released; it never applies to non-students. HIPAA, however, applies to everyone.

• 3

  Compare when to use FERPA and when not to use FERPA. Administrators working with students will use FERPA, as it applies to students. Health administrators and organizations using electronic transactions must use HIPAA.