WHAT IS HIPAA?
WHAT IS HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (August 21), Public Law 104-191, which amends the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986. Also known as the Kennedy-Kassebaum Act.
Title II includes a section, Administrative Simplification, requiring:
- Improved efficiency in healthcare delivery by standardizing electronic data interchange, and
- Protection of confidentiality and security of health data through setting and enforcing standards.
More specifically, HIPAA calls for:
- Standardization of electronic patient health, administrative and financial data
- Unique health identifiers for individuals, employers, health plans and health care providers
- Security standards protecting the confidentiality and integrity of “individually identifiable health information,” past, present or future