How Secure Are Your Medical Records Even With HIPAA?

1 Pages 302 Words

Effective as of April 14, 2003, HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, went into place replacing the old system of health related information privacy such as the age-old practice of doctor/patient privilege. HIPAA is a nation standard put into place to protect your health related information. Quoted from Medical Record Privacy, “The extent of privacy protection given to your medical information often depends on where the records are located and the purpose for which the information was compiled. The laws that cover privacy of medical information vary by situation. And, confidentiality is likely to be lost in return for insurance coverage, an employment opportunity, your application for a government benefit, or an investigation of health and safety at your work site. In short, you may have a false sense of security” (Privacy 1).
There are some areas where HIPAA doesn’t even attempt to cover. Such areas include your financial reports, your child’s school reports, and/or your employment files. With such areas being left out of the HIPAA act, intrusion of your personal health information is greatly at risk.
There are also numerous other shortcomings that HIPAA has, as some of those would include you have no ability to sue under HIPAA, law enforcement can obtain any of your personal health information at any time, and your private healthcare information can be used for marketing. Now, all of these shortcomings are very significant when it comes to your personal health information.
It is obvious that HIPAA has some flaws that need to be worked out, but in the mean time, the thought of a national standard when it comes to your privacy in this age of computers and robots, makes you feel a little at ease, if not only for a short while....