HIPAA Facts

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) provides the federal guidelines regarding the protection of medical information. It also specifies the standards and practices for processing these records.

Applicability

• HIPPA regulations apply to health-care providers, health-plan providers and medical billing services. Both individuals and companies are regulated by HIPPA.

Rights

• HIPAA gives patients the right to obtain a copy of their health records. Patients also have the right under HIPAA to correct inaccuracies in those records.

Privacy

• HIPAA protects any health information that could be used to identify an individual. Protected health information may only be used to provide health care to that individual, process a payment for the individual or be transmitted to service that individual's account.

Disclosure

• HIPAA requires an entity to obtain permission from patients before using their medical information for purposes outside of HIPPA guidelines. The entity must specify the information to be disclosed and the organizations that will receive the information.

Exceptions

• HIPAA regulations many not violate existing state and federal laws. The most common exceptions to HIPPA regulations involve the disclosure of medical information needed to protect the public health.