Patient PrivacyWhat is HIPAA?The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) or Public Law 104-191 was signed into law August 21, 1996. The Privacy Rule provides federal protections for personal information held by a covered entity, such as BMC. As of April 14, 2003, the Federal Office of Civil Rights implemented new rules related to the privacy and confidentiality of your health information. As part of those new rules, we are required to obtain your signature in acknowledgement of how we (hospital/provider) use and share your health information. Our Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) describes how we may use or disclose your health information and your rights to access and/or change that information. As described in our Notice, you may request copies of your health information, or request a list of people or organizations that you did not authorize but who have received your health information from us. How We Assure Your PrivacyWe do not allow access to your health information by those outside the Boston Medical Center providers unless we have the appropriate authorization to do so. Our workforce members are trained in the appropriate use and disclosure of health information and know that it is available to continue to provide care to you and for other legitimate purposes. We address any violation of confidentiality or failure of a workforce member to protect your information from accidental or unauthorized access. |
