Protecting Your Health Privacy
Subtitle: a citizen's guide to safeguarding the security of your medical information
Publisher: Praeger
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Language: eng
Number of pages: 244
ISBN-13: 9780313387173
Description: Protecting Your Health Privacy empowers ordinary citizens with the legal and technological knowledge and know-how we need to protect ourselves and our families from prying corporate eyes, medical identity theft, ruinous revelations of socially stigmatizing diseases, and illegal punitive practices by insurers and employers. Online sites for keeping personal health records are privacy minefields. Individuals are increasingly exposing their health information to abuse by careless postings to social networking sites. Medical ID theft is a serious and growing problem that often has catastrophic consequences for victims' wealth and health. The 2010 Health Reform bill and the 2009 Economic Stimulus package incentivize medical providers to increase their use of electronic health records, which bring increased clinical benefits but also increased risks to privacy and security of medical information. It's a new era in healthcare.

Gone are the day when access to your medical records is limited to you and your doctor. Instead, today, a diverse group of constituencies have interest in and access to your health information. A cascade of changes in technology and the delivery of healthcare are increasing the vulnerability of your medical information. Accordingly, it is now more important than ever to take control over your own health information and take steps to protect your information against privacy breaches that can adversely impact the quality of your health care, your insurability, your employability, your relationships, and your reputation.

In clear, non-technical language, privacy lawyer Jacqueline Klosek teaches readers the basics you need to know as an individual healthcare consumer about the ongoing wave of national and state legislation affecting patient privacy: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) of 2009, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. She untangles the increasingly complex ways by which health care providers, insurers, employers, social networking sites, and marketers routinely collect, use, and share our personal health information. Protecting Your Health Privacy: A Citizen's Guide to Safeguarding the Security of Your Medical Information empowers ordinary citizens with the knowledge and know.

how we need to protect ourselves and our families from prying eyes, medical identity theft, ruinous revelations of socially stigmatizing diseases, and illegal punitive practices by insurers and employers. - Publisher.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Understanding health privacy; title: The importance of health privacy; title: Individual expectations of health privacy; title: Threats to health privacy; title: Overview of the legal landscape; title: The purpose and organization of this book; title: 1. Understanding health privacy laws.; title: A brief history of health privacy in the United  States; title: HIPPA; title: Understanding  HIPPA; title: The  HIPPA Privacy Rule; title: The  HIPPA Security Rule; title: The HITECH Act; title: Other federal laws; title: Overview; title: The Privacy Act of 1974; title: Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records  Regulations; title: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; title: The Americans with Disabilities Act; title: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act; title: State Laws; title: Conclusion; title: 2. Your rights under  HIPPA and how to exercise them.; title: Introduction; title: Your rights under  HIPPA; title: Overview; title: The Right of Access; title: The Right to Amend; title: The Right to Accounting; title: The right to Privacy Notice; title: The Right to Request Confidential Communications; title: The Right to Request Restrictions on Uses or Disclosure of PHI; title: The Right to Complain; title: Beyond complaints; title: Conclusion; title: 3. Data Security, Breaches, and ID theft.; title: Introduction; title: Understanding the risks; title: The importance of information security; title: What to expect from this chapter; title: A brief review of Data Security Law; title: Overview; title: The  HIPPA Security Rule; title: Data breach response requirement; title: Other state laws imposing security requirements; title: Summary of state efforts; title: Unauthorized access to medical information; title: Vulnerability of medical information; title: Lost and stolen computers and storage devices; title: Data theft by medical workers; title: Errors and mistakes; title: Snooping; title: Family matters; title: Malicious disclosure of health information; title: Improper disposal of medical information; title: Medical ID Theft; title: Understanding medical theft ID; title: Trends in identity theft; title: Putting it into context: war stories; title: New legal weapons against ID theft; title: Protecting yourself against medical ID theft; title: Conclusion; title: 4. Taking it into your own hands: personal health records.; title: Introduction; title: Understanding personal health records; title: What is a personal health record?; title: What are the advantages of PHRs?; title: How are PHRs regulated?; title: Concerns about PHRs; title: Privacy concerns; title: Security concerns; title: Terminated and inactive accounts; title: Choosing a PHR vendor; title: Tips on using a PHR; title: Conclusion; title: 5. Your health privacy at work.; title: Introduction; title: Your employer's interest in your medical information; title: HIPPA and your employer; title: Pre-employment screening and hiring; title: Wellness programs at work; title: Introduction to employer-sponsored wellness programs; title: Types of wellness programs; title: Key legal issues; title: Privacy matters; title: The problem of monitoring and/or regulating off-duty conduct; title: Social networking, privacy, and your employer; title: Conclusion; title: 6. Marketing your health.; title: Introduction; title: Health marketing and the law; title: HIPPA and the HITECH Act; title: State law; title: Marketing using aggregated and/or de-identified data; title: Prescription data mining; title: The issues; title: The law; title: Protecting yourself against unwanted marketing; title: Conclusion; title: 7. The special cases of mental health, addiction, socially stigmatizing diseases, and other intensely private health matters.; title: Introduction; title: Legal protections for sensitive health information; title: Overview; title: The problem of consent; title: Federal law; title: State privacy laws governing sensitive health issues; title: Notable case law; title: Conclusion; title: 8. International perspectives on health privacy.; title: Introduction; title: Canada; title: Australia; title: Introduction to applicable legal framework; title: Application of the Privacy Act's NPPs to the healthy sector; title: Legislative overhaul; title: The European approach; title: Introduction to privacy in the EU; title: Basic principles; title: Working party guidance on electronic health records; title: Conclusion; title: Conclusion; title: Overview; title: Improving privacy protections; title: Protecting yourself