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The Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act is nothing to take lightly. Privacy is an important issue in this country and the basis of the doctor-patient relationship. Failing to respect that privacy is a breach of trust that threatens to undermine the healthcare system in our country. For this reason, healthcare providers that break this trust by violating the Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act must face penalties appropriate to their violation. Here is a breakdown on some of the tiers of violations and the penalties that they incur.

Today, we are going to look at an interesting legal and ethical question: Can health clinics report an undocumented immigrant, or is that a breach of trust? There have been several cases of undocumented immigrants and healthcare privacy over the years, but this particular one is rather interesting. Remember, it’s not the case that they are collecting free healthcare or committing insurance fraud, but simply that they are undocumented. So what is the correct approach to this issue? Let’s look at this latest case in Texas...
 
Case in Kingwood, Texas
 

The Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act is nothing to take lightly. Privacy is an important issue in this country and the basis of the doctor-patient relationship. Failing to respect that privacy is a breach of trust that threatens to undermine the healthcare system in our country. For this reason, healthcare providers that break this trust by violating the Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act must face penalties appropriate to their violation. Here is a breakdown on some of the tiers of violations and the penalties that they incur.
 

There is a lot of conversation being brought up about mental health, lately.

The importance of having good health care privacy can’t be stated enough. It is the entire basis of the doctor-patient relationship. The essential reason that we have the Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act is to prevent breaches of trust and preserve this relationship. This is why it is important for all healthcare providers to have a good health information system to manage and protect patient’s information. For this reason, a HIPAA risk management analysis is usually a great action that providers can take to ensure that they are doing their part to protect patient’s privacy.

Wondering about HIPAA and how it factors into everyday medical practice? Here is a brief guide to what HIPAA is and what it means for healthcare facilities around the country.