The ever-growing number of state and federal laws concerning security and privacy rights for patients continues to increase the difficulty of maintaining legal compliance. Medical organizations must continually manage and update their policies and adhere to patients' privacy rights at all times. Given the inherent challenge of understanding your rights and responsibilities to protect confidential patient information as a medical provider, are you confident that you can legally respond to requests for information from a variety of sources?

In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA protects insurance coverage for workers and their families during job change or loss. It also created several programs to control fraud and abuse within the healthcare system. Because privacy legislation was not initially part of the Act, the Health and Human Services developed the Privacy Rule to further protect patients' rights. The Privacy Rule took effect in 2003 and now regulates the use and disclosure of specified medical information. Its purpose is to define and limit the circumstances in which a person's protected health information may be used or disclosed by covered entities.

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• Recognize information protected by the Privacy Rule
• Discover how Patients, Covered Entities, Public Interest and Benefit Activities fit into the Privacy Rule
• Identify a wide variety of Public Interest and Benefit Activities exemptions
• Take a closer look at what is included in the authorization for release of information
• Enact five steps you must follow if a violation of privacy is suspected
• Check for the four pieces of information you need before releasing any patient information
• Practice utilizing your knowledge by analyzing applicable case studies

Nurses, nurses' aides, physicians, office managers and staff in medical offices, clinical technicians, hospice workers, nursing home employees and every healthcare professional who handles patient information and disclosure will benefit from this information-packed program!