The original purpose of HIPAA was to improve the accountability of health insurance. The law was adopted on August 21, 1996, and since then has undergone significant changes and additions (Ellison & Clack, 2020). In 2003, the law was amended with privacy rules designed to protect patients’ medical information (Ellison & Clack, 2020). The HIPAA security rule went into effect two years after the original legislation was passed on April 21, 2005 (Ellison & Clack, 2020). In 2009, the HIPAA law was supplemented by the Information Technology Act, which encouraged the computerization of patient medical records (Ellison & Clack, 2020). In 2013, the HIPAA Violation Notice Rule went into effect (Ellison & Clack, 2020). The remaining additions were introduced to clarify obscure areas of the law, defining the relevant terms.
HIPAA benefits stakeholders: patients, healthcare workers, and the system as a whole. One of the patient concerns that HIPAA addressed initially was the protection of patients who were off work (Ellison & Clack, 2020). At the current stage, patients are guaranteed complete confidentiality and no fraud in the health insurance industry. For health care providers, HIPAA is useful because it allows healthcare organizations and healthcare professionals to earn the trust of patients. HIPAA has made the transition to digital databases easier, making the work for healthcare professionals more efficient. For the healthcare system as a whole, HIPAA has helped simplify administrative functions and ensure the secure exchange of protected health information.
HIPAA works well to protect the personal data of health insurance users. However, new technologies are evolving rapidly and new ways to steal sensitive data are being developed daily. At this point in the history of the law, new safeguards need to be developed to prevent data from being subjected to modern forms of cyber-attacks. With rapid digitalization, there are more opportunities for fraud, and the law must adapt to them in a timely manner to protect patients.
Reference
Ellison, R., & Clack, L. (2020). Health policy management: A case approach. Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.