| HIPAA Compliance |
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The Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires all health care entities to develop and document security programs to guard Protected Health Information (PHI) against loss or unauthorized disclosure. HIPAA clearly stresses that these security measures must be "reasonable and appropriate" in nature. This legislation also specifies a series of administrative, technical and physical security practices and procedures for agencies to use that will assure the confidentiality of electronic protected health information. Woodfords Family Services is also required by HIPAA to maintain the privacy of your protected health information, and to provide you with a notice of Woodfords' privacy practices. Protected Health Information (PHI) includes any information which makes it possible to identify an individual. This includes direct information such as name, address, telephone number, social security number and birth date or indirect information such as diagnosis which can be used to reasonably conclude the identity of an individual. In order to comply with HIPAA, Woodfords has incorporated the federal requirements into its' Confidentiality practices. This includes providing protections in the transmission of Protected Health Information via e-mail, cell-phone or by fax. Agency staff ensure that consumers and/or their legally-responsible persons are able to make reasoned decisions around transmission of PHI in a manner that is easily understood and includes all the risks and benefits of services. Consumers and legally responsible persons are informed about the laws, rights and regulations that protect records and are given a written summary of this information as part of the informed consent process. For further information regarding HIPAA compliance, please contact Woodfords Family Services Privacy Officer at 878-9663. |