Hagar and Phillips - Healthcare Professionals and Protected Health Information

Healthcare Professionals and Protected Health Information

When protecting patient information, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals face laws and regulations that are continually in flux. A person’s license as a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare worker does not extend to business or technology expertise, and professionals may feel overwhelmed by the increasing number of healthcare laws and regulations.

Despite professionals’ best efforts to keep up with ongoing changes, there are always opportunities to misunderstand a new IT ruling or overlook a regulatory change. Here are five laws focused on protecting personal health information.

5 Laws Focused on Protecting Personal Health Information

1. Patient Privacy

The purpose of the Privacy Act of 1974 is to regulate information the government collects. The Act permits people to know what information organizations, agencies, facilities, and others have gathered about them and to ensure that it is correct.

2. Alcohol and drug confidentiality

The Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records regulation protects the privacy of anyone participating in a drug or alcohol abuse program.

3. Specialized services

Part of the Medicare laws that regulate providers, the Conditions for Coverage of Specialized Services, requires that Protected Health Information, or PHI, not only be confidential but that it also has protection against destruction and unauthorized use.

4. Healthcare facilities accreditation

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, a private organization, accredits hospitals and healthcare facilities. The operating rules are constantly under review.

5. Technology innovations

The Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012 recommended improvements in healthcare delivery over mobile apps and other systems. Informatics, the use and management of patient health care information, relies on innovations in Health Information Technology, better known as HIT. Like most of today’s technology, it is a constantly changing field with which healthcare professionals often struggle to keep current.

Contact a Trusted Wilson County Healthcare Attorney

Speak with the best healthcare attorneys in Lebanon, TN, about your legal healthcare agreements by contacting Hagar & Phillips for a confidential consultation at 615-784-4588.

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