The body of law known as The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Public Law 104-191 fills hundreds of volumes. As you look for ways to increase office efficiency with new software, being certain that you're using certified products that is compliant is of the utmost importance. HIPPA certification means that the software meets governmental HIPAA standards required for electronic medical records.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) contain guidelines and standards to protect an individual's medical records. Release of their private medical records and other personal health information could prove devastating to the patient. The law holds violators accountable with civil and criminal penalties that can be imposed if they violate a patient's privacy rights.

To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, Public Law 104-191, included "Administrative Simplification" provisions that required HHS to adopt national standards for electronic health care transactions. Congress recognized that advances in electronic technology could erode the privacy of health information and incorporated into HIPAA provisions that mandated the adoption of Federal privacy protections for individually identifiable health information.

HHS published a final regulation in the form of the Privacy Rule in December 2000, which became effective on April 14, 2001. This Rule set national standards for the protection of health information, as applied to the three types of covered entities.

Health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers who conduct certain health care transactions electronically. These standards protect and guard against the misuse of "individually" identifiable health information. In a sense medical records should be blind, having no individual names but the use of codes. Failure to implement these standards in a timely fashion may, under certain circumstances, trigger the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

Secretary Tommy Thompson called for an additional opportunity for public comment on the Privacy Rule to ensure that the Privacy Rule achieves its intended purpose without adversely affecting the quality of, or creating new barriers to, patient care. After careful consideration modifications to the Rule, to improve workability and avoid unintended consequences that could have impeded patient access to delivery of quality health care.

The Privacy Rule establishes, for the first time, a foundation of Federal protections for the privacy of protected health information. The Rule does not replace Federal, State, or other law that grants individuals even greater privacy protections, and covered entities are free to retain or adopt more protective policies or practices.

Therefore, when researching an electronic medical records software company to help with your electronic medical records, it is wise to make sure that every area of individual information is handled in HIPAA-compliant procedures.