The HIPAA Law Section, Essay Example

Summary

A 47 year old migrant cardiothoracic surgeon from China became the first person to be sentenced for HIPA violations. The surgeon who was practicing in Los Angeles California pleaded guilty to the violation after it was found that he illegally accessed the medical records of his supervisor and coworkers. It was also revealed that the medical records of celebrities and high-profile patients such as Arnoeld Schwarzenegger, Leonardo Di Capri, Drew Barrymore and Tom Hanks.  From precise reports Zhou entered UCLA record stem 323 times. Besides, after being terminated he illegitimately reviewed four patient records without any reasons.  The contention was that he did not know it was a federal crime. As a researcher he felt that accessing the records was a privilege. He was fined $2,000 and remanded to four month impression.

 Law and penalties for HIPPA violations

The HIPAA Law Section 1177 specifying ‘Wrongful Disclosure of Individually Identifiable Health Information.”   This law regulates protection of patient information. It is classified Protected Patient Health Information.  Health care providers are usually aware of these especially when joining the profession during the orientation phases. This laws applies to healthcare providers, health insurance companies and healthcare clearinghouses. The United States Labor Department is responsible for imposing fines ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 one to ten years per person jail term. The fines could be imposed on an individual, health care organization, medical company or executive body such as a board. The researcher could have faced further charges if it was proved that he was trying to sell the information to use it for manipulative purposes (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 2015).

References

Dimick, C. (2010). Californian Sentenced to Prison for HIPAA Violation. Journal of AHIMA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)(2015). Overview Definitions. Retrieved on November 15^th 2015 from  http://www.upmc.com/about/Documents/vendor-guidelines/2014-upmc-hipaa-omnibus-tc-signature-0414.pdf