HIPAA

The federal HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) law protects medical and other personal health information, while giving patients control over how it’s used and disclosed. It includes provisions healthcare providers must abide by in order to ensure that patient information is secure and protected from data leaks or unauthorized use. It also includes potential civil and criminal penalties if patients’ information is compromised.

HIPAA is focused on safeguarding PHI (protected health information), which includes any data that can be used to identify a patient. This information can include a patient’s name, date of birth, and data related to medical diagnosis or treatment. The data is typically accessed by a variety of healthcare employees, from IT staff to frontline clinicians. To protect this data and ensure HIPAA compliance, many healthcare organizations leverage patient privacy intelligence applications to help identify, investigate, and audit inappropriate access.

The benefits of adhering to HIPAA regulations include the avoidance of significant financial penalties for non-compliance. In addition, HIPAA compliance helps healthcare organizations build patient trust, while preventing reputational damage.