• HIPPA sets broad federal guidelines for health care privacy in the United States.white folder (confidential) image by William Berry from Fotolia.com
  
  The Health Insurance Portability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) established federal standards to help protect health care confidentiality for patients, and provide a more standardized way for health care providers to share sensitive medical information. All Texas health care providers covered under HIPPA must follow privacy standards and ensure patient privacy regarding health care.
  
  

Facts

• HIPPA protects a patient's private health care records, such as information regarding medical treatments or health care payments. In addition, HIPPA's Electronic Data Exchange (EDI) creates a uniform way of documenting patient medical procedures to ensure overall privacy. HIPPA violations can have serious disciplinary consequences for health care providers. A provider can be fined $100 to $25,000 per violation.
  
  

Covered Entities

• According to the Health and Safety Code of Texas, a covered entity (e.g., health plans, health care providers) is any provider who stores or gathers public health information (PHI). Covered entities have to follow all guidelines under HIPPA. Providers can distribute (PHI) in an oral, electronic or written format. Public health information includes any documents which disclose a patient's health or medical records. Although HIPPA sets standards for medical privacy nationwide, states can adopt laws with higher standards for health privacy that supersede federal standards. In Texas law, privacy standards for covered entities are comparable to federal law.
  
  

Exempt Entities

• Texas does not generally consider employers as covered entities under state law; therefore, employers may not be subject HIPPA standards. Additionally, non-profit agencies may also be exempt from HIPPA if the agency does not operate as a health care business and offers financial assistance to indigent clients needing health care services.