The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a United States federally mandated act affecting anyone possessing or responsible for medical, insurance, and/or financial data. Its aim is to protect a medical patient's financial, medical, and payment records from wrongful disclosure to illegitimate parties. Computer systems that work with medical records must adhere to strict standards and regulations as to how the information of a patient is transmitted, stored, and used. Encryption
, digital signatures
, and many other procedural safeguards must be in place for an organization to be in compliance with HIPAA.
Last updated Thursday, 05-Apr-2012 12:12:33 MDT