Privacy

What is HIPAA?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a US law designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients’ medical records and other health information provided to health plans, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers.

Thousands of US organizations must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule. The Security Rule is a key part of HIPAA — federal legislation that was passed into law in August 1996. The overall purpose of the act is to enable better access to health insurance, reduce fraud and abuse, and lower the overall cost of health care in the United States.

Why HIPAA?

InterStation has chosen to comply with HIPAA rules considering this to be one of the highest standards world-wide when speaking of privacy. Whether your organization is a Healthcare or a Financial entity it is our role to protect your customers privacy, and therefore your integrity. It is imperative that we all understand the rule and take the necessary steps toward compliance.

Key Factors for Compliance

Complying with the HIPAA Security Rule can require significant time and effort. CEs must comply with 18 broad standards, many of which have specific requirements. The time and effort required will vary significantly, depending, in part, on the security policies, procedures, and processes an organization already has in effect.

If your organization regularly conducts risk analysis, uses a unified, “defense in depth” security approach, has formal, documented security policies and procedures, and conducts regular workforce training, it will almost certainly require less time and effort to comply with the Security Rule than an organization who does not. The complexity of your organization will also determine the time and effort required to comply. A five-person dentist’s office will likely require less time and effort than a highly decentralized hospital employing thousands.

Regardless of size or complexity, if your organization is a CE, there are eight key steps you should consider when preparing to comply with the Security Rule.

What is FDCPA

fdcpa logo

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (aka FDCPA), is a United States statute added in 1978 as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

Its purposes are to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information’s accuracy. The Act creates guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defines rights of consumers involved with debt collectors, and prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the Act. It is sometimes used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

There are a number of FDCPA dos an donts. Here again InterStation has chosen to strictly comply with all of them. Far from considering these laws problematic, we have incorporated them in our day to day duties to serve as a real guide. Our collaborators have been trained to follow the Act in such a way patient / debtor is respected.

After all, we too are human beings who would not appreciate abusive and deceptive practices.