The Standards for Privacy
of Individually Identifiable Health Information
(Privacy Rule) establishes, for the first time,
a set of national standards for the protection
of certain health information. The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
issued the Privacy Rule to implement the
requirement of the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
The
Privacy Rule standards address the use and
disclosure of individuals' health information, called
protected health
information by organizations subject to the
Privacy Rule, called covered entities, as
well as standards for individuals' privacy
rights to understand and control how their
health information is used. Within HHS, the
Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has
responsibility for implementing and enforcing
the Privacy Rule with respect to voluntary
compliance activities and civil money penalties.
A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to assure
that individuals' health information is properly
protected while allowing the flow of health
information needed to provide and promote high
quality health care and to protect the public's
health and well being. The Rule strikes a
balance that permits important uses of
information, while protecting the privacy of
people who seek care and healing. Given that the
healthcare marketplace is diverse, the Rule is
designed to be flexible and comprehensive to
cover the variety of uses and disclosures that
need to be addressed.
To view the
entire Rule, and for other additional helpful
information about how it applies, see the OCR
website:
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.
ProWatch Senior Care Services. is NOT a covered entity and as
such is NOT required to follow the HIPPA policy, but we DO to the extent we can. Our caregivers
are required to sign a confidentiality agreement
which prevents them from discussing your case
with anyone other than your family or caregiver
assigned to your case - previous or current. Our
corporate office will NEVER give any information
regarding you to anyone without your
authorization.
