Read the following case study and put yourself in the position of Micah Makalivi
ID: 426053 • Letter: R
Question
Read the following case study and put yourself in the position of Micah Makaliving, who works in the Emergency Department.
Bill Salamander is a consultant working in the medical records department of a medical center. As would any vendor doing business with this hospital, Bill’s company has signed a Business Associate Agreement. This agreement confirms that the vendor will abide by the hospital’s compliance and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) policies.
Bill has friends all through town, and they know how much access he has to patient information. One such friend is a personal injury attorney, Anna Anywaican. This attorney is full of ideas. One of her schemes includes a network of associates at hospitals around the state. She hadn’t yet made inroads into this one facility, but now she has Bill.
It was a simple plan—Bill would provide Anna access to trauma patients and for every case he recruited, she would award him 10% of any monies she recovered.
In his first assignment, Bill was paid $25,000 after Anna’s client accepted a settlement. However, Bill still had one problem. His access to the medical records was limited to post-discharge. Sometimes, a trauma patient’s record would not arrive to the medical records department for months.
Bill had to find help. Bill decided to go to the Emergency Room and scout the third-shift employees. Eventually, he comes to you, Micah Makaliving. On your break, he asks you to provide him access to the patients who register in the ER as trauma patients. He offers you two choices: either pass out Anna Anywaican’s cards or hand him a list of patient names, and addresses. Bill will pay you 50% of what he makes. Micah, what will you do?
After reading the case study, please answer the questions below in a 2-3 page report. Be sure to include at least one, well-developed paragraph, to answer each question.
What law is Bill violating?
Why was this law enacted?
What are the penalties for violating these laws?
What steps would you take in this situation and why?
MINIMUM 2 PAGES + References
Explanation / Answer
What law is Bill violating?
Bill is violating the HIPAA- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Bill is trying to obtain and sell information regarding a patient for personal gain and hence his violating the HIPAA
Why was this law enacted?
This law was enacted in 1996 to protect patient health information and privacy especially in electronic media and electronic transactions. It establishes, guidelines and protocols for storage and transfer and usage of patient health information.
The law protects health information and patient details on paper, electronic media as well as oral communications
What are the penalties for violating these laws?
For civil cases
In cases of noncompliance which are civil Violations can result in penalty ranging from $100-$1.5 million depending upon the nature of violation. The nature of violation is classified into 4 categories- Unknowing, Reasonable Cause, Wilful neglect, Willful neglect and is not corrected
For criminal cases
Covered entities and specified individuals will face a fine of up to $50,000 plus I year imprisonment up to 1 year- for obtaining and disclosing secure information
Offenses committed with the intent to sell, transfer or use for commercial advantage or personal gain can incur fines of $250,000 and 10 years imprisonment
What steps would you take in this situation and why?
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