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HIPAA UPDATES 2023
Written By Vigneswar Ravi & Vignesh M R The Latest on HIPAA Compliance HIPAA Compliance will be undergoing significant changes, this year in 2023, which you need to be aware of. But, let's look at its history before we get into the upcoming changes in the HIPAA Privacy Rule.The United States established HIPAA in 1996. However, there were no set rules for gaining access to medical records till then. In fact, all the local and state governments had established their own rules and fees. HIPAA established standardized rights and responsibilities for managing and safeguarding Protected Health Information (PHI).However, changes in working practices and technological advancements over the last ten years have given rise to various issues with HIPAA. To address these concerns, the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) had to issue HIPAA guidelines to clarify misunderstandings about HIPAA requirements rather than make rule changes. The major HIPAA update was enacted a decade ago, and changes to HIPAA Rules are now required. The latest response was due earlier this year but has been postponed until March 2023. Proposed HIPAA Updates to the Privacy Rule in 2023 PART 1Allowing patients to examine their PHI in person and take notes or photographs.Reducing the maximum time for providing PHI access from 30 days to 15 days.Restricting the rights of individuals to transfer ePHI to a third party maintained in an Electronic Health Record (EHR).Confirming that an individual has the authority to instruct a covered entity to transmit their electronically Protected Health Information (ePHI) to a personal health application upon the individual’s request.Specifying when individuals receive ePHI free of charge.Mandating that covered entities notify individuals about their entitlement to receive or authorize the transfer of their Protected Health Information (PHI) to a third party, in cases where they are provided with a summary of the PHI instead of a complete copy.Extending the authorization of the armed forces to disclose or use the PHI to all uniformed services.Adding a definition for electronic health records.Modifying the language to enhance the ability of a covered entity to disclose PHI to prevent a potential threat to health or safety in circumstances where the harm is "reasonably and significantly predictable.”Creating a pathway for individuals to direct the sharing of PHI maintained in an EHR among covered entities.Obtaining a written acknowledgment from a person for receiving a Notice of Privacy Practices will not be required by covered entities.Requiring HIPAA-covered entities to publish on their website the estimated fee schedules they charge for PHI access and disclosures.Furnishing personalized cost estimates for supplying individuals with a copy of their PHI will be required of HIPAA-covered entities.Broadening the scope of healthcare operations to include care coordination and case management.Requiring HIPAA-covered healthcare providers and health plans to respond to records requests from other covered entities when individuals exercise their HIPAA right of access.Granting authorization to covered entities to utilize and disclose certain Protected Health Information (PHI) if they genuinely believe it is in the individual’s best interest.Introducing an exemption to the minimum necessary standard for individual-level care coordination and case management purposes, irrespective of whether these actions are classified as treatment or healthcare operations.PART 2In November 2022, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which sees both Part 2 and HIPAA changes to align these regulations better.Part 2 protects patient privacy and treatment records for substance use disorder (SUD), with HIPAA governing protected health information. Since SUD records are highly sensitive, they require more safeguards and restrictions than other types of health information covered...
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