1). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPPA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act HITECH regulations are significant as they exert their impact on the health care system. They are also significant because they also exert their influence on the future of the health care system as health related security concerns are associated with these regulations. HIPPA has a wide impact on the health policy of the state, on the insurers, health providers, and consumers (Sridhar, 2013). HITECH is, however a part of ARRA or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which comprises of the health care information technology incentives such as creation of infrastructure for provision of health care at national level, and also contain particular incentives that are designed in order to increase acceptance of the Electronic Health Record systems among the health care providers (McWay, 2013).
HIPPA and HITECH are the federal regulations for ensuring health privacy, they set a floor for the protection of the privacy at the national level so that patient’s medical records are kept private and confidential, and can be used in the future when required. These regulations are ensuring the present as well as future protection of patient’s data by improving the technologies so that better quality health care can be provided the patients. Health consumers will, however, be benefitted from these limits because their sensitive information and data will be protected. Further, these protections and limits will allow the patients to have an easy access to their medical reports and records, and they can keep a check on the use of their personal information by the health care providers as well as by the health plans. Consumers will also be able to request the corrections in case of any error in the medical record. Additionally, they will also be able to file complaints regarding the privacy problems with their health care providers and health plans in order to ensure protection of their Civil Rights. Further, HIPPA and HITECH regulations will also help in the creation of synergy between the state and national level technology programs associated with the health information as well as other initiatives of health reform such as the pay for performance and analysis of the quality of care. They will also help in the Health Information Exchanges at the state level and at the federal level they consider the roles of Medicare and Medicaid for sustaining and building the capacity Health Information Exchanges and further strengthening it.
2). Moreover, these regulations will also modify the ongoing use as well as the implementation of the software system, which maintain the data of patients. This will be ensured with the help of the HIPPA Security Rule which confirms the integrity, availability, and the confidentiality of the electronically transmitted, established, produced, received and maintained health information (Balgrosky, 2014). It ensures administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. For example, in the administrative safeguard, the Security rule implements training and security awareness program for all the employees. it also implements adequate security measures such as the protection of the software from malicious viruses, monitoring of the log-in, and management of the password so that the data of all patients can be maintained and protected in an effective manner.
3). The HITECH Act has however, modified the definition and description of the business associate, which has also impacted the software and hardware vendors. According to the HITECH Act, any organization or institution that transmit Protected Health Information or PHI data to a business associate or the protected entity and that needs PHI access on regular basis such as Electronic Prescribing Gateway and Health Information Exchange Organization is regarded as a business associate and should obey the Privacy and Security Rules and enter a agreement of the business associate with other business associate or protected body (Ciampa & Revels, 2012). These requirements also hold true in the case of the vendors of hardware and software, they also have to enter an agreement, and have to obey all the rules and regulations regarding the protection and confidentiality of the software and hardware.
4). These regulations will in help in improving the infrastructure and the organizational standards because they will help in spreading the standards and regulations for the electronic exchange of the better health care transactions. They will help in ensuring the security and privacy standards within the organizations in order to protect and safeguard the privacy of the health information and personal information of the individuals. These regulations will effectively improve the infrastructure of the organizations in a way that it will encourage the use of the electronic data; provide appropriate measures and safeguards in order to protect the confidentiality and privacy by placing adequate limits on the use, access, and the disclosure of the covered and protected information of the individuals. They also ensure that the business associates that are acting on the behalf of an organization will also remain conscious about the security and make necessary disclosures in order to ensure accountability, which will ultimately help in ensuring the effectiveness as well as efficiency of the organization.
References
Balgrosky, Jean A. (2014). Essentials of Health Information Systems and Technology. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Burlington
Ciampa, M., & Revels, M. (2012). Introduction to Healthcare Information Technology. Nelson Education Limited, Canada
McWay, D. (2013). Today's Health Information Management: An Integrated Approach. Nelson Education Limited, Canada
Sridhar, Divya S. (2013). Impact of Healthcare Informatics on Quality of Patient Care and Health Services. CRC Press, Florida
