|
|
|
|
The Business of Health Care Report
Today's subject is patient
privacy. Beginning April 14, health care providers
and payers nationwide must comply with the medical privacy regulations of the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act - called HIPAA for short - a federal law designed to keep
patients' medical information confidential and used only for treatment, payment and operational
purposes. For thousands of health care professionals
and facilities, changes are on the horizon - changes in how computer systems operate, how patient
information is processed and how patient information is communicated. The new regulations apply
to a broad range of health care entities, including hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, health plans
and all providers, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists and technicians. Under the new medical privacy law, all health
care providers must adopt comprehensive privacy policies and communicate their information practices
to their patients. Providers and payers need to limit the use and disclosure of medical information
to the minimum amount necessary. For example, reasonable steps will be taken to
keep hospital hallway conversations about patients private as caregivers use lowered tones and request
privacy with patients in their rooms. Patients also have rights over what is disclosed to hospital
clergy; and health care practitioners must focus on handling patient records - on paper or on a
computer - in a way that protects them from being seen by people not involved in the patient's
care. Safeguarding the confidentiality and privacy of
a patient's medical information has long been a top priority for the nation's hospitals and caregivers.
Day in and day out, protecting the information that is used to treat patients has been an ethical
imperative. Medical privacy isn't a new concept - the rules
are just being updated to provide even more safeguards for one of our fundamental rights. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO Doug
Hawthorne with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio
1080 KRLD. Sources:
©
2003 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 