WHO MUST COMPLY WITH HIPAA?

• HIPAA's main goal is to assure that a person's health information is properly protected - while still allowing the flow of health information needed to provide high-quality healthcare and to protect the public's health and well-being. According to HIPAA, all "Covered Entities" must comply with privacy and security rules. "Covered Entities" include: o 1. Healthcare providers (including doctors, nurses, hospitals, dentists, nursing homes, and pharmacies). Under HIPAA, a healthcare provider is defined as: • Any person or organization that furnishes, bills, or is paid for healthcare services in the normal course of business, and transmits and stores that healthcare information • o A person or organization that engages a third party to process, transmit, and store claims • 2. Health plans (insurance companies) • 3. Healthcare clearinghouses, which are entities that process certain information, such as: • o Billing services o Repricing companies o Community health management information systems As a healthcare worker, you are part of the "healthcare provider" network and therefore are required to comply with HIPAA rules and regulations regarding Protected Health Information (PHI). Workers in dietary, engineering, housekeeping, etc. may have access to PHI and also are required to comply with HIPAA regulations.