HSA 4431 Florida International University HIPAA Privacy Act Case Study

INTRODUCTION TO THE CASE

• The Hospital Ethics Committee (HEC) of Dr. Simmons Hospital has been assigned to address and solve the case of a employee breaking policy and violating the rights of a patient
• Our patient here is Miami Heat player Andrew Smith
• Andrew came in contact with somebody on an elevator in his apartment building that had covid.
• He came in for testing because he started having symptoms of covid and found out he tested positive.
• Nurse Angie Banks was ambushed by the team at theshaderoom and was offered $10,000 to spill information on Andrew. At first she didn’t want to because she knew it would violate HIPAA regulations but after hearing that large amount she told them anyways.
• Nurse Angie and her future at Dr. Simmons Hospital is now under the investigation of the HEC

HIPAA and Privacy Rule

• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that is put in place to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.
• HIPAA has a standard called the “Privacy Rule” that addresses the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information (known as “protected health information”) by entities subject to the Privacy Rule
• The Privacy Rule states that covered entities may not sell protected health information to a business associate or any other third party for that party’s own purposes.