What Law Regulates Electronic Health Records?

EHRs are computerized versions of paper medical records used by physicians and healthcare practitioners. An EHR system comprehends patients’ complete medical records, including diagnoses, prescriptions, treatment, lab results, etc. Patients’ EHR data spread rules and regulations that protect your health information.

Providers collaborate with other physicians, hospitals, and healthcare practitioners to figure out how to share that data. The electronic health records are set up to communicate, and other entities involved in patient care are only able to access the information in EHRs. Everyone has privacy rights, whether the information is in paper form or electronic health records. EHRs limit the sharing of documents and information to legal or personal purposes. After getting to that point, medical data security for all patients is the primary concern, the question arises: what law regulates electronic health records? And how to implement electronic health records?

The legal system, initiated on precedent and slow to adopt new technology such as EHRs, provides slight direction for routing the shift from paper-based to electronic records.

Healthcare Practice Confidentiality and Law

Many laws govern the confidentiality of medical information. Although they provide some protection, these laws serve primarily to ensure the streamlined flow of information within the healthcare business rather than only being stuck to preserving healthcare data privacy.

Moreover, these rules often only apply to patients’ personal medical information detained by specified categories of entities, such as your physician or another health care practice entity. Existing medical privacy rules often protect the information provided on a patient portal about a patient’s condition.

What exactly is HIPAA?

HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a federal law that oversees health-related communications and procedures to sanctuary patient health information (PHI) and patient privacy.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the foundation of federal legislation governing healthcare practice medical data. It mainly accomplishes three tasks:

• Establishes the rights of individuals relative to a patient’s health information and creates a mechanism for how can we reveal personal health information.
• It can assist you in establishing security guidelines for storing and transmitting electronic patient information.
• It provides a standard layout and data structure for electronically sharing patients’ health information and complete medical history.

HIPAA solely governs the health industry; therefore, it also applies to “medical billing firms” and their acquaintance’s business. Enclosed entities include healthcare practitioners, insurers, and healthcare clearinghouses. An acquaintance business manages a patient’s health information (PHI) on behalf of a covered entity.

Exemptions for PHI disclosure

Furthermore, there are several exclusions for patients’ medical information sharing without healthcare practice and patient consent.

The Privacy Rule advises enclosed and protected companies to:

• Personnel and team members understand all rules and regulations to manage all PHI without any privacy risk to healthcare practices and patients.
• Implement security instructions to certify the reliability of PHI and other patients’ comprehensive identifiers.
• By summons or as part of the lawsuit’s discovery process, health information might be released in judicial and administrative processes.
• There are exceptions for law enforcement, patient’s health information obtained through summons or court order as part of a criminal investigation or reporting.
• Particular government services, such as national security and intelligence operations, are exempt from this disclosure.
• Patients’ Health Information is allowed to share with a healthcare insurance provider, but this information is kept confidential.
• Without the patient’s consent, their PHI cannot be shared with anyone else except the cases in which medical firms need to share it for research purposes or shared with covered entities to provide complete flash services to healthcare practitioners.
• Non-prison health information on criminal convicts might be shared to that cell where they are enslaved.
• If you apply for a community subsidy, your personal health information (PHI) is disclosed in this case; Health information is disclosed during the application process for employee reimbursement.
• Covered entities should revise their patient endorsement procedures to include the disclosure of immunization information and the provision of an electronic copy if the patient wants one.
• Patients have the right beneath the Privacy Rule to scrutinize their health records, acquire a duplicate of them, and request regulations to their health records if compulsory.
• Patients should be given Notices of Privacy Practices (NPP) outlining the circumstances under which their health data may be used or shared.

The Privacy Rule refers to the section of HIPAA that deals with information privacy. It allows extensive, unconsented disclosures of personal health data for treatment, payment, and monotonous health care procedures while requiring written consent for sharing sensitive information. Your permission is also required if your health information is to be utilized for advertising purposes other than recommended medication notices.

Patients have some HIPAA rights; they have the right to get complete access to their medical records, whether they want to analyze their data or extract their data from Electronic health records. Information about deductibles treatments that aren’t revealed to insurers.

Why was HIPPA legislated?

Before the passage of HIPAA in 1996, the transfer of personal health information was governed by an assortment of federal and state rules. Because these regulations were unpredictable in their parameter of health information transmission, ambiguities permitted personal health information to be interchanged for non-medical drives. As a result, designed to protect individual patient information and limit its transmission strictly for concern for patients and refining health consequences.

Electronic Health Records and HIPAA Integration

HIPAA became especially relevant to healthcare providers after the HITECH Act increased the adoption and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs). As it mandates the institutionalization of security standards for processing electronic healthcare transactions. It also requires healthcare to implement protected and electronic systems to protect electronically protected health information (PHI) for patients. Secure electronic systems diminish the threat of PHI negotiation by guarding in contrast against system viruses, cyber breaches, and third-party attempts to acquire patient health information. Different actions are taken to encrypt PHI against unauthorized access by enabling screensavers. This screensaver mode works when a medical firm does not use it to stop access to unauthorized personnel.

HIPPA Compliant Medical Firm for Healthcare Practices

Medical billing companies understand how important it is for physicians to be HIPAA compliant; Medifusion has created an electronic health record (EHR) that makes it simple for physicians to keep their practices HIPAA compliant. We have mentioned the HIPAA regulations that solo healthcare practitioners should be aware of.

HIPAA Privacy Instruction

The HIPAA Privacy Rule outlines secure health information (PHI) as individually distinguishable health information maintained by an enclosed entity. This enclosed entity comprises health care practitioners, clearing houses for practitioners and providers. In this covered entity, personal health information covers the patient’s treatment, diagnostic information, insurance information, and payment plan. The HIPPA privacy element protects patients’ personal health information. In the absence of patient authorization, the Privacy Rule institutes limits and circumstances for the use and revelation of PHI.

HIPAA Security Regulation

The Security Rule outlines the national criteria that must be followed to safeguard ePHI. The Security Rule applies to any system or individual who has access to sensitive patient information. Access is the ability to read, write, alter, or communicate ePHI or personal identifiers that may reveal the patient’s identity.

The Security Rule is divided into three sections:

• Technical safeguards
• Physical safeguards,
• Administrative safeguards.

Each element of data security is convoy by a set of protocols, some of which are mandatory for all covered businesses and others that are “addressable.” An “addressable” instruction is not elective but ought to be executed at the discretion of the covered body, depending on whether the regulation is practicable.

The addressable safeguard will be determined by contemplations such as the covered entity’s risk assessments, risk mitigation methods, and existing security measures. The decision not to implement “addressable” precautions must be documented in writing and include the factors considered and the risk assessment results. If adopting an “addressable” safeguard is unreasonable, covered organizations may recommend a suitable substitute or refrain from implementing the protection altogether.

Technical Security Measures

The Technical security measures apply to the technological systems used to access and protect PHI. If PHI leaves the organization’s internal fully secured servers, it must be encrypted and transmitted to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This maintains the confidentiality of patient information by interpreting it as unreadable, incomprehensible, and inoperative as a result of a negotiation. After encrypting health data, companies can use whichever methods they see fit to:

PHI Access to patients

Create procedures to govern the issue and revelation of PHI, such as assigning every user with access to PHI a centrally precise distinctive username and PIN code.

Tracking Mechanism

Install a system to record all endeavored PHI access and ensure what’s done with the assigned PHI by tracking all mechanisms.

Outline PHI Validation

That’s done to protect and secure the reliability of PHI and ensure that it has not been altered or destroyed without authorized personnel.

The appliance of Encryption and Decryption Tools

This policy applies to all electronic devices, particularly mobile smartphones that ensure the security of PHI sent outside of an internal server must be encrypted.

Allow for Automatic Logoff

This security measure is intended to prevent unlawful access to Patients’ Health Information when a device carrying PHI is unintentionally left on though not in use.

Physical Security

The Physical Safeguards section addresses the steps required to secure PHI physically. These policies specify how workplaces and portable devices are protected from unlawful access to PHI.

Workplace Policies

Practices should develop and execute policies to limit the use of workplaces with access to PHI and recognize protective measures to ensure PHI security. Like initiating a screen around a workplace so, the workplace cannot be unheeded from an unrestricted area.

Regulations Portable Devices

If mobile devices have access to PHI, it must be executed rules prevailing on how PHI can be deleted from the portable device before it is reused. 

Implement Staff Admittance

Techniques must be put in place to record anyone who has physical access to a site housing PHI to avoid stealing, interfering, or unlawful physical access to PHI.

Hardware Inventory

A catalogue of all hardware that is retained and any movement of any piece must be documented. Before any equipment is transferred, an exact copy of PHI is requisite to make that can retrieve it.

Administrative Security

For staying HIPAA compliant, administrative protections are the strategies and techniques that enterprises must follow. The Administrative Protections portion of the Security Rule requires a security officer and a Privacy officer to administer the security of PHI and the conduct of the administration’s workers.

A critical source of noncompliance is the failure to conduct frequent security risk assessments, which many covered businesses are unaware of. The risk assessments of a company will be thoroughly reviewed for extensiveness and efficiency during the phase of HIPAA audits. Risk assessments are not one-time procedures but are carried out regularly to maintain ongoing compliance.

Developing a risk management strategy

To maximize the security of PHI, risk assessments must be done regularly. Organizations must implement a disciplinary procedure for employees who violate HIPAA laws.

Leading risk assessments

 A Security Officer recognizes and categorizes all areas where electronic PHI is used and establishes all probable avenues for PHI breaches.

Restrict unauthorized access

 The Security Officer assures unauthorized parties do not access PHI, and those business associates and covered entities who have access to PHI sign the Business Associate Agreement.

Assembling a plan

 In an unpredictable situation, a contingency plan must enable the maintenance of significant business jobs while protecting electronic PHI. Accessible backups of PHI made, as well as progressions for reestablishing lost data in the event of an uncertain condition.

Implementation of strategies  

The exigency plan is strategized and implemented regularly to ensure that all parts of the eventuality plan are operational.

Training sessions

Administrations must implement training schedules to enhance knowledge of guidelines and processes controlling PHI access and to teach personnel how to spot dangerous software attacks and malware. Every training session must be acknowledged.

Reporting security instances

If security instances can be contained the data recovered before they become a breach of HIPAA standards, no security instance reporting is mandatory. Personnel must track the HIPAA breach notification regulation if a security breach occurs.

HIPAA Breach Notification Requirement

The Breach Notification Rule necessitates enclosed businesses to notify patients when their protected health information (PHI) has been negotiated. If the breach impacts more than 500 patients, covered entities must notify it immediately

• The following information should be included in breach notifications:
• The category of electronic PHI involved, including the individual identifiers, disclosed
• The unlawful use of the electronic PHI or the person to which PHI was revealed and exposed.

Notifications of breaches ensure that within 60 days of the breach’s discovery. When notifying a patient of a breach, the covered entity must advise the patient on how to protect themselves from probable damage, briefly describe what the organization is doing to inspect the breach, and what actions the business will take to inhibit future breaches security incidents.

 Other USA laws and acts that provide additional security for medical information and you will get to know which of the following laws regulates electronic health records?

Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act (IPPA)

The Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act (IPPA) forbids the illegal revelation of personal information gathered in connection with insurance applications and claims resolution, including medical data. Insurers must provide you with a notice of privacy policies that informs you of who your data may be shared with and provide you rights to bound your information sharing.

Information Practices Act (IPA)

State organizations are subject to the Information Practices Act (IPA). It restricts their ability to accumulate, conserve, and allocate personal information, including medical information. Individuals also have the right to see personal information stowed in state organization records, acquire who has accessed it and appeal changes to erroneous or unrelated information.

Online Privacy Protection Act

The Online Privacy Protection Act is relevant to websites that collect personally detectable data, including medical information. The term security is ambiguous here because the fundamental requirement of the act is that websites “noticeably” stake a privacy policy notifying patrons what data the site gathers and with whom it bonds information.

More information on federal and USA laws governing medical data confidentiality can be found in the Office of Health Information Integrity. The analysis of State and Federal Health Laws relating to records, secrecy, safety, and patient right to approach their data to help you to get out of it.

Because the regulations governing health information are concentrated on who grips the data of enclosed entities rather than the data itself, patients’ medical information that falls outside the scope of HIPAA and other related legislation is often not protected by a particular medical billing firm.

Medifusion Can Assist You With HIPAA Compliance

Medifusion is dedicated to raising a clinical-first, provider-centric EHR that will support the physician-patient relationship and encourage exceptional patient outcomes.

We understand the significance of data security and have prioritized ensuring patient confidentiality and privacy. The following are some of the features of Medifusion EHR that will assist practitioners in being HIPAA compliant:

Security Options

It is critical to keep your health information protected and isolated. As a result, Medifusion employs double the encryption level allowed by PHI laws and regulations. Our EHRs also use demanding user access controls to ensure that your data does not end up in the wrong hands. Our service is HIPAA-compliant, and we always keep your medical information secure.

Billing and Network

You can send and receive protected data directly from a sizeable HIPAA-compliant network of labs, healthcare practices, pharmacies, and medical billing structures. Our EHR enables you to exchange clinical data with health plans and accountable care administrations to advance access to your patient’s medical records from hospitals and other medical practices. You can also mandate tests and obtain results directly in our EHR, which saves your team time sending and scanning. You can connect to any e-prescribing pharmacy in the USA and save your patients’. Sending prescriptions from your EHR is as simple as a single click, allowing you to get your patients on medication as soon as possible. Our EHR makes it simple to add prescription notes, print a patient copy of the script, and renew several drugs simultaneously. Our billing partners work in tandem with our EHR. You do not need to update your existing billing processes if you already have your billing system. You can print, export, or securely send electronic superbills to your existing internal or external biller using Medifusion EHR.

Communication pathway

Medifusion EHR includes an online patient portal that provides you and your patients with continuous access to secure patient data. You and your patients can instantaneously interconnect about their health online using HIPAA-compliant messaging, allowing your practice to reduce unnecessary phone calls and appointments. You can use our EHR to send HIPAA-compliant automated text messages, emails, and voicemail recordings to patients two days before their planned visit. Our patient portal also allows patients to readily access their allergies, current prescriptions, and other relevant medical information, allowing them to be more proactive in their healthcare. As a result of the messaging feature, your practice will save time and money, allowing you to focus on providing the best possible treatment. Independent and small practice physicians who use Medifusion EHR may be assured that their practice will be HIPAA compliant, allowing them to focus on what they do best, caring for patients.

Wrap Up

Electronic health records are straightforwardly used to substitute medical information among stakeholders, and patient information can be accessed and rationalized as a patient receives care. However, such systems’ safety and secrecy considerations are difficult because the patient may face significant consequences if complex and delicate data is unrestricted to a third party. Based on the publications read and the security areas examined, it is clear that distinct discretion of safety and privacy strategies standards are applied in electronic health records. The article discusses these to understand which law regulates electronic health records properly. And how they will assist you. However, such systems must be coordinated to resolve future conflicts and inconsistencies among the principles and laws of EHR.