HIPAA, Elder Care and Estate Planning

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HIPAA, Elder Care and Estate Planning
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The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act, or HIPAA, has been in effect
since the end of September
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Its all about technology, your privacy and
your healthcare
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There are a lot of moving parts, however and
understanding the role of HIPAA is crucial for
anyone seeking out health care in the U.S
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THE CLOUD
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The cloud is the collective online storage that
is used by individuals, corporations, the
government and medical care providers
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Its benefits are many in the healthcare sector,
including
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Its benefits are many in the healthcare sector,
including
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ensuring a streamlined access to those who need
it to provide quality healthcare
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Its benefits are many in the healthcare sector,
including
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It eliminates waiting for physicians and other
medical care providers to compare notes since
the Information is readily available to those
who need access
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Its benefits are many in the healthcare sector,
including
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Because information is maintained off of local
servers, it protects it by ensuring the crucial
information for patients is always accessible
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With the many benefits, it also presents privacy
issues
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Specifically, there are concerns about hackers,
identity theft and penetration by those with evil
motives
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Still, the benefits outweigh any potential
problems
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Other roles of this law include
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Other roles of this law include
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There were also tighter compliance guidelines put
into place surrounding other third parties
especially when it comes to selling your
information
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A manufacturer cannot purchase your information
from a medical Center for the purposes of
selling equipment such as wheelchairs or other
medical equipment
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If you do not wish to hear from third parties
not associated with your healthcare, you can
request your doctor include a waiver in your files
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One of the more important disclosures associated
with this law has to do with what your family
members may or may not be told about your current
healthcare
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HIPAA prohibits the disclosure of protected
health information by covered entities unless
authorization has been granted
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If that authorization has been granted, a
personal representative (validly appointed) or,
in much more limited circumstances, to
family/friends, information may be disclosed for
public policy reasons and more commonly for
treatment, payment and health care operational
issues
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A general release or consent to disclosure
usually fails to qualify under HIPAA
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Many patients may be confused over how strict
the new law is
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As a result, a well intending family member will
not be able to access information that could be
very important
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A valid authorization should include
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A valid authorization should include
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A very specific and meaningful description of the
information thats acceptable for disclosure
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The name or names of those the patient authorizes
to have that information
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An expiration date of the authorization (or
specific notation that there is no expiration)
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Signed and dated by the individual or a validly
appointed personal representative
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Your elder care attorney or estate planning
attorney can help put these important documents
into place
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Note, too, that its best for financial, medical
and legal entities have exact copies of the
releases or authorizations
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LEARN MORE ABOUT HIPAA, ELDER CARE AND ESTATE
PLANNING IN NEW YORK
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Click to visit www.kobricklaw.com
Click to visit www.kobricklaw.com