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HIPAA: What It Is and Why You Should Care

You've probably already experienced some effects of new HIPAA regulations at your doctor's office. But these more stringent privacy policies don't affect just your doctor and her patients; they also apply to the IT solution provider who stores those patient records, and maybe other tech companies down the line.

What Is HIPAA?

As our society becomes increasingly dependent on the flow of information in our daily lives, the ease with which such information is transmitted needs to be balanced with the concerns of privacy and security. This balance is most critical for information that relates directly to our personal livelihood and health, such as financial information and our medical records.

As one of the largest healthcare providers and information consumers in the world (with Medicare and Medicaid), the U.S. government needed to address two major issues:

  • Accountability. As the electronic flow and exchange of information has become more prevalent, so have fears about how such information might be used and/or abused in this information age.

  • Standards. Information can only be exchanged easily if standards for both the format and exchange of the data can be followed by all interested parties.

In 1996, the United States Congress passed the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly referred to as HIPAA (pronounced HIP-uh). Through HIPAA, Congress charged the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with addressing the information concerns facing the healthcare industry.

Some of the HIPAA rules are already in effect, others are just now coming online, and a final set is waiting in the wings. The rules published by HHS break down into four broad areas:

  • The Transactions Rule

  • The Privacy Rule

  • Standard Unique Employer Identifier

  • Provider and Health Plan Identifiers

Let's take a closer look at what has been implemented and what's coming down the road.

CAUTION

Disclaimer: The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only. The author of this article is not a lawyer, and nothing here should be construed as legal advice. For all questions regarding legal matters, you should consult an attorney, not the World Wide Web.

Timeline

Once HHS publishes a rule under HIPAA, the industry is typically given 24 months before compliance with the rule is mandatory. This is a far greater lead time than most rules, but the increased compliance time is warranted due to the complexity of implementing new information technology. Currently, the rules take effect as shown in the following table.

Rule

Mandatory Compliance Date

The Transactions and Code Set Standards

October 16, 2003

The Privacy Rule

April 14, 2003

The Security Rule

April 21, 2005

Standard Unique Employer Identifier

July 30, 2004

Standard Provider and Plan Identifiers

Not yet established


HIPAA is in the news again this summer due to the compliance date for the Standard Unique Employer Identifier, which falls under mandatory compliance on July 30. Of course, there are some exceptions for mandatory compliance, such as an exception for small plan providers or for filing for an extension.

Penalties

To ensure compliance with HIPAA and to give the legislation some teeth, it carries some harsh penalties for not being in compliance. Companies can face fines of up to $25,000 for multiple violations of HIPAA rules within a calendar year, and intentionally violating HIPAA could garner a fine of $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison.

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Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about Peachpit products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

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Surveys

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Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

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Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

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This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

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Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


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Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020