HIPAA Means Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It is formulated in 1996. This is meant for privacy and security. It provides federal government protection for personal health information that is held by covered entities. It is helping in confidentiality of patients’ diseases and giving protection regarding the patients’ health problems and expenses.
The covered entities which come under HIPAA are three types.
- Health Plans
- Healthcare Providers
- Healthcare clearing house
Health Plans include all Health Insurance companies, HMOs, Company Group Health Plans, Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, other Government Healthcare Programs.
Healthcare Providers include Doctors/Physicians, Clinics,Nursing Homes, psychologists and pharmacies.
Healthcare Clearing House includes organizations which help in processing the health information that they receive from the Healthcare Providers or Health Insurance companies. These organizations work on converting nonstandard health information to a standard electronic format. A billing company comes under this category.
