HIPAA Forms

HIPAA Consent FormsHIPAA Forms are essential for all covered entities. The passage of the Health Insurance and Portability Act (HIPPA) by Congress in 1996 signaled a new era for patient privacy and security.  HIPAA created rules and measures aimed at:

  • preventing health care fraud and abuse;
  • creating administrative simplification;
  • and facilitating medical liability reform.

With the introduction of HIPAA, medical facilities, healthcare agencies, and anyone dealing with the private information of patients, or other such “covered entities,” are required to maintain HIPAA compliance.  Are you a covered entity?  Well, according to the HIPAA Privacy Source Book (Society for Human Resource Management, 2004) by William S. Hubbartt, SPHR, CCP, “include public and private sector entities that transmit health information in electronic form, such as health plans, health care clearinghouses, health care providers, and organizations or individuals that provide certain financial or administrative transactions involving use or disclosure of individually identifiable protected health information.” Covered entities, Hubbartt wrote, can include:

  • Self-insured employers.
  • Primary physicians.
  • Consulting physicians.
  • Managed care organizations.
  • Health insurance companies.
  • Life insurance companies.
  • Pharmacies.
  • Pharmacy benefit managers.
  • Clinical laboratories.
  • Accrediting organizations.
  • Medical information bureaus.
  • Business services.
  • Governmental units or agencies.
  • Other organizations handling protected health information.

What are some of these covered entities doing to ensure HIPAA compliance? A main tool and component in securing a proper compliance program is the use of HIPAA Forms. These forms are essential to getting covered entities compliant, but also pivotal in getting them organized.  And did you know that some of these forms are absolutely necessary if you happen to be a covered entity?  For example, HIPAA requires that all persons you collect medical information from either directly or indirectly (such as by filling a prescription) be notified of their rights to privacy and receive a “Notice of Privacy Practices” which is sometimes also called “Notice of Information Practices.” The statement must tell your patient clients what you do with their information and it either must be signed by the patient, or the patient must sign on a HIPAA consent form that they have received a copy of your privacy practices prior to signing a HIPAA consent form.

Some entities need upwards of 40-50 HIPAA forms in their office to properly maintain compliance. With a multitude of information and miscommunication on the rules and regulations surrounding HIPAA, it can be difficult to find out which forms you need, and which forms you don’t. The HJ Ross Company is one credible industry expert that has developed HIPAA software that allows covered entities to create a customer compliance program geared to the needs of their business.