Everything You Ought to Know About HIPAA Policies and Procedures

As doctors, you might have so many tasks to do in a day. Sometimes, some medical cases can put tremendous pressure and stress on you. You require helping hands to tackles some of the works for you. While hiring support staff is good, but it is not always the best option. 

Outsourcing some jobs to professional companies is the best thing to do. For example, many companies are offering reliable physicians answering services to their clients. It is wise for you to handpick the best company amid all the available options.

But when you are picking a med answering service, you should check if that particular company adheres to the policies that are outlined by HIPAA. Never take this thing lightly. A single case of negligence can cause put your company at high risk.

HIPAA policies and procedures protect you and your healthcare facility from unnecessary headaches. Here's everything that you must learn about HIPAA:

What Exactly Is HIPAA?

HIPAA is an acronym for the 'Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.' This particular act came into existence from the year 1996. 

The main aim of this particular act is to safeguard or protect the interests of the patients that visit healthcare units for medical assistance. This act helps in protecting the sensitive information of the patients that are with the doctors or the healthcare units. 

One more reason why this act is helpful is that it protects sensitive patient information from falling into the hands of data thieves. Before this act came into the picture, there was no law in place to protect this information. 

Who Need to Follow HIPAA?

Here are the following entities or people that are required to strictly adhere to the policies and procedures as outlined in HIPAA:

• HMO's

• Health Insurance Companies

• Dentists, doctors, psychologists, chiropractors, and so forth

• Clinics, nursing homes, pharmacies, and hospitals

• Any business entities that handle patients medical histories 

If you belong to any of the categories listed above and are looking at outsourcing as an option, you need to look out for reputed companies that are offering reliable physicians answering services.

HIPAA Is Crucial for the Patients

HIPAA protects the patients and gives them several rights. Now this includes using a powerful tool to pull their medical history or records. They can use them to pull their medical history and to check if there are errors in them. 

They can correct mistakes that creep in these records. Any entity who has sensitive data of the patients need to take permission from the concerned person before sharing with others. If they are not following it, that is not the right thing. 

Patients can raise a complaint if they suspect that someone has leaked this information. The penalties that one faces when they break these policies are pretty harsh. 

Here are the key reasons why you, as a medical practitioner, need to search for a med answering service provider that follows HIPAA policies. As you take care of this aspect, you can be at peace that nothing wrong will ever happen to your clients. 

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Created on Jul 15th 2020 06:16. Viewed 338 times.

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