Why You Need A HIPAA Consent Form

HIPAA is a federal law that upholds standards to prevent disclosing unauthorized information. Healthcare professionals can then better protect medical records and identifiable health information while providing services.

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So where does a consent form come into play? The HIPAA Privacy Rule states requirements for a patient's consent to release their protected health information. This is helpful for a multitude of reasons. One of them being that it marks an individual's rights to understand and control their protected health information. The other is that it allows healthcare professionals to limit the liability of their organization in the case of a civil suit.

Healthcare providers often deal with patient’s sensitive health information. This includes illnesses, prescriptions, past medical procedures and diagnoses. The list of course goes on. If this information never had to leave the practice, we may not have as much of a need for consent forms. However, in reality this isn’t the case.

Healthcare organizations need to work together with third parties such as clearinghouses and insurance companies to ensure proper patient care. The healthcare infrastructure is therefore pretty complex and prone to mistakes.
While navigating this infrastructure, professionals must keep business agreements and medical records safe and secure. This relates directly to HIPAA compliance.

Understanding the main types of HIPAA consent forms can mean the difference between good HIPAA compliance and a hefty fine.

In 2018 Anthem Inc. paid the largest ever financial penalty for a HIPAA violation. After the investigation of their 78.8 million record data breach in 2015, the insurance company paid $16 million to settle the case.

The need for a HIPAA consent form can apply to many different cases while handling protected health information. Whether you work in a doctors office, a hospital setting, or a lab, HIPAA consent forms are necessary to carry out even the simplest tasks.

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