Patient Care & HIPAA

The challenges placed upon healthcare professionals today are tremendous. More and more, healthcare professionals have to juggle and eventually strike a balance between providing quality care to their patients while at the same time keeping tabs on their compliance with myriad, complex healthcare related laws and regulations. HIPAA, a law that gave rise to patient privacy regulations, is one such law that is both complex and pervasive and increases the myriad of administrative requirements a healthcare professional must juggle in his or her delivery of health care. Regardless of whether patient care is delivered directly (e.g., from a physician, nurse or therapist) or indirectly (e.g., from a lab technician or dietician), integrating HIPAA’s vast requirements and guiding principles into the healthcare professional’s every day duties and responsibilities can sometimes prove to be a big challenge to the healthcare professional as he or she strives to provide care to his or her patients.

While challenging, effective integration of HIPAA's privacy regulations (called the "Privacy Rule") can actually reinforce some of the basic tenets of patient care and demonstrate to the patient the health care professional’s commitment to providing quality care with respect for the patient’s privacy and dignity. When seeking and obtaining healthcare, patients share very personal and sensitive information with healthcare professionals. Patients, in addition to expecting good care, expect and trust that information about them will be kept private and shared with only those that have a need to know . Since the healthcare professional’s business is to provide healthcare, and a patient’s willingness to give personal information is essential to the provision of quality healthcare, effectively integrating patient privacy principles and guidelines into every day practice is just good business.

For tips on how to integrate patient privacy into your everyday practice, go to HIPAA Learning Module: Safeguards: Integrating Privacy Into Our Daily Practices

For information on how to use or disclose patient information or PHI for treatment, patient care and related purposes such as payment, go to HIPAA Learning Module Using & Disclosing Health Information.

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