Sarah Joss
Rasmussen College
Author Note This research paper is being submitted on March 3th, 2013, for Milo Sampson’s M230/HSC2641 Section 04 - Medical Law and Ethics class.
HIPPA Violation – Privacy Rule
Thesis: Preventing violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule greatly impacts any health care professional, specifically patient information as it relates to a pharmacy and its entire staff. Ever wonder what the acronym HIPAA stands for, how it relates to health care professionals, as well as you, the patient? Violations of the HIPAA Privacy rule greatly impacts health care professionals, specifically those working in a pharmacy, such as pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Let’s read further to learn more about HIPAA, more specifically the Privacy Rule. The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, is a federal law that contains national standards, created to protect a patient’s medical and health information, among other things as well. All health care workers, including pharmacists and pharmacy staff, who have access to patient information must comply with HIPAA and the Privacy Rule (Christenson). In August 2002, the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information or “Privacy Rule”, was established to implement the requirements of the HIPAA Act. This rule describes what health workers need to do to protect the privacy of their patients’ health information. The Privacy Rule was established to protect patient health information by placing limits on how patient information can be used or disclosed. The Privacy Rule is just one part of HIPAA, but nonetheless a very important part to health care workers, including pharmacy employees. (HIPPA for Pharmacy Staff) With the establishment of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, a patient’s right to have his or her health information kept private and secure became more than just an ethical obligation of physicians and hospitals -- it
References: Christensen, T. P. (2002). HIPPA Privacy Rule. Retrieved from http://www.cedrugstorenews.com/userapp//lessons/page_view_ui.cfm?lessonuid=&pageid=5B50467215715CC5C40011755313978E HHS. gov. (May, 2003). Health Information Privacy. Summary of the HIPPA Privacy Rule. Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/index.html HHS Press Group. (2010, July 27). Rite Aid agrees to pay $1 million to settle HIPAA privacy case [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/07/20100727a.html HIPPA for pharmacy staff [PDF]. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.cecity.com/ncpa/2012_projects/hipaa/flash/print.pdf HIPAA training handbook for the healthcare staff: An introduction to confidentiality and privacy under HIPAA [PDF]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.regalmed.com/pdfs/HIPAA_Handbook.pdf