Making sense of HIPAA — the first in a weekly series

picture disc. HIPAA, the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996,” provides federal protection of patient health information. You will be receiving weekly messages to help you understand the topic and how it impacts your job. What is HIPAA? How does it differ from HIPPO?

Questions:

1. Why do we have HIPAA regulations?

2. How is HIPAA different from HIPPO?

Answers:

1. Due to the easy access to electronic information, privacy and security regulations were needed to protect patient health information in any form, including written, oral or electronic. The HIPAA law provides patients with this protection.

2. HIPAA only has one “P” and is everywhere on our campus. HIPPO has two “P’s” and is located at the Henry Doorly Zoo!

picture disc.

If you’re a manager, please ensure all of your employees are informed of the contents of these messages and how it applies to your work area. Some ways of sharing the information include discussions during staff meetings, printing and posting this message or asking your employees if they have any further questions.