Question

Scenario #1 You have been working at University Medical Center for five years. A few months ago, you struggled through some personal issues and abused alcohol to cope. You received treatment at a local Drug and Alcohol Inpatient Center and are in an out-patient recovery program. Your best friend, who also works with you at the Medical Center, knows about this and told your supervisor during a related discussion one day. Later that week, your supervisor told another colleague that you had a history of substance abuse and should not be left alone in the medication room.

Question 1 Did your supervisor violate HIPAA? Why or why not?

Question 2 Did your co-worker violate HIPAA? Why or why not?

Answer 1

The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law in the year 1996, by President Bill Clinton. It is a legislation which provides security provisions and data privacy, in order to keep patients’ medical information safe.

the HIPAA compliance requirements above:

· National Provider Identifier Standard: Requires that every single health care entity, like employers, individuals, healthcare providers and health plans, need to have a unique 10-digit provider identifier code – their NPI (National Provider Identifier).

· Transactions and Code Sets Standards: Requires organizations to follow a standard mechanism for EDI (electronic data interchange), when processing or submitting insurance claims.

· HIPAA Privacy Rule: Establishes national standards that protect patients’ health information and makes sure any individually identifiable information is safe.

· HIPAA Security Rule: Sets standards for patients’ data security.

HIPAA Enforcement Rule: Establishes the guidelines for investigating .

1.Did your co-worker violate HIPAA? Why or why not?

Yes, she did for all the same reason as the supervisor did.She may violate HIPAA why because to save the staff from abusing again.

2.Did your supervisor violate HIPAA? Why or why not?

Yes, because he shouldn’t be discussing a patient’s medical history with other colleagues, he should not be discussing it in a public setting and he should, and he should not have said anything unless she gave him the prior authorization which he is not.

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