HCS335
April 17th, 2011 Administrative Ethics Paper Organizations today are constantly under watch because of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Today an organization must take specific measures to protect an individual’s private health information. As technology advances with the coming future, protection as become increasing difficult, covering all the basis and guidelines brought forth by HIPAA laws. A major concern of the federal government is an intended or unintended breach of HIPAA regulations. Along with HIPAA, came the creation of the Privacy Rule. The Privacy Rule according to Mir, (2011), “restricts the use and disclosure of health information except by the individual, persons granted access by the individual, or as authorized and required by the privacy rule” (p. 11, para. 2). In 2009, President Obama endorsed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).The ideals of HIPAA was growing quickly, the growth was complete with the aid of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), which is a part within the ARRA. This growth not only covered health care providers and health care organization, but also the organization’s business associates. Everyone within an organization is responsible to protect health information, and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has no problem enforcing these new guidelines. Especially if there is a breach of information, and it is not reported by the organization (Boerner, 2009).
Issue and impact A breach of any kind of patient information can be costly to an individual and the entire organization. A breach is a devastating issue for all parties involved, especially for the individual, whose privacy has been violated. Pertinent patient information could destroy a patient’s life that it can become deadly. Individuals steal medical information, and use it for personal use, causing problems within the