Objectives
By the end of this unit the learner should be able to ;
- Understand the benefits of having Medical records.
- List characteristics of a good medical record.
- Explain the purpose of the HIPAA privacy rule and security rule.
- Understand the goals of HIPPA and what it consist of.
- Understand patients rights and how to protect a patients privacy.
- Understand your responsibilities as a health provider in relation to HIPPA
overview
- A medical record is a systematic documentation of a single patients’ medical history and care across time within one particular health provider jurisdiction.
- In 2000, many people who had just been diagnosed with depression received free samples of antidepressants in the mail. This left many patients wondering how the drug companies knew about their disease. After a long and thorough investigation, the physician and the pharmaceutical company were found to have broken confidentiality rules and were charged. This is why the federal government had to step in and create rules to protect the patients’ privacy.
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA), is a federal statute that mandated the development of national standards to preserve the confidentiality of sensitive patient information
