{"id":129362,"date":"2021-05-21T12:22:06","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=129362"},"modified":"2021-05-21T12:22:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:22:06","slug":"what-is-protected-health-information-how-can-you-handle-it-in-your-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/what-is-protected-health-information-how-can-you-handle-it-in-your-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Protected Health Information & How Can You Handle It In Your Workplace?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you are running your own medical practice or considering doing business with other healthcare providers, then you must have a sound knowledge of what is protected health information<\/a> under HIPAA laws<\/a>? Because it is the most crucial aspect of the healthcare industry.<\/p>

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The medical industry has become a new victim of ransomware attacks. Hackers often target highly confidential healthcare information. Which is used in frauds, blackmailing and other illegal purposes.\u00a0 Moreover, it has also been observed that hackers also target medical practices to disrupt operations in an attempt to demand a ransom.<\/p>

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Therefore, it is the primary responsibility of every medical practitioner to stay compliant with the federal regulations related to the privacy and protection of patients\u2019 data. They should know about what is protected health information and how they can manage it.<\/p>\n

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For this purpose, they must follow the rules and guidelines set by the HIPAA to improve their healthcare security.\u00a0 The HIPAA Security rules demand the implementation of tight security systems to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the PHI. And it also restricts the disclosure and access of health information to unauthorized persons even in your workplace.<\/p>\n

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The general rule of thumb is that healthcare providers should never allow access to the in-house staff, who have nothing to do with this information. As staying compliant with the HIPAA privacy rules managing the PHI isn\u2019t as easy as it may seem.<\/p>

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It requires expertise and in-depth knowledge about the innovative software used in storing the patients\u2019 records. So, instead of putting your healthcare business at risk by relying on inexperienced individuals having little knowledge about protected health information. You should hire health information management professionals to oversee the data needs.<\/p>\n

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What is Protected Health Information (PHI)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

PHI is a mixture of patients\u2019 identifiable as well as health information.\u00a0 It\u2019s pertinent to mention here that PHI isn\u2019t just related to medical records or individually identifiable health markers. It can be any information that is used to identify patients or disclosed in the course of providing a health care service.<\/p>\n

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Here are the following identifiers that can be used to locate or identify an individual:<\/p>\n

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