State Laws
HIPAA laws are regulated by the federal government and mandated by the Office for Civil Rights. The Office for Civil Rights is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These laws are very important and are vital to maintaining the privacy of your patient and making them feel secure in your health care facility or hospital. Because these laws are so important, they need to be posted clearly throughout any building that is required to abide by them. A HIPAA sign should be found in any and every hospital and health care facility throughout the United States. These laws are extremely sensitive and are so important that they super-cede any state laws that negate or are contrary to the HIPAA laws. It is important for hospitals to recognize that their individual state laws come second to the federal HIPAA laws that have been in place since 1996. In some cases, states have laws that complement HIPAA laws. Any hospitals that are in states that have laws negating the HIPAA laws should consider posting HIPAA signs that explain that their state’s laws are preempted by any and all HIPAA laws. Exceptions to this rule are rare and can only be determined by the Office for Civil Rights. The state, other entity, or person may request that the state’s laws remain valid in unusual circumstances. They are as follows:

HIPAA laws are not regulated by the state. These laws are regulated by the federal government and the United States Department of Health and Human Services. These laws represent the rights of health care patients. They ensure that all patients are treated equally and all patients records are given the privacy and security they deserve. These laws are very important, and should be posted frequently throughout a facility so that everyone is aware of what they mean and why they are in place. HIPAA signs should be found in every facility and usually in lots of areas around the buildings. There are many cases where states have implemented their own laws to complement HIPAA. HIPAA signs stating clearly that federal laws have authority in this cases would be helpful as well.

Why Does HIPAA Exist?
HIPAA is a federal law that serves many purposes. One of the primary purposes of HIPAA is to protect the privacy of patients in hospitals and health care facilities. These laws prohibit doctors and health care providers from sharing information about their patients with other people as well as banning them from sharing health records. The law also limits the ability of employers to exclude health care coverage for preexisting conditions. A HIPAA sign should state these basic concepts of the law as well as indicate whether or not the facility accepts Medicare. HIPAA also provides additional outlets for people to enroll in group health plans if they have lost coverage for some reason. HIPAA also bans discrimination against employees or any of their dependent family members based on a plethora of health factors they may have. This includes prior medical conditions, previous claim, genetic information, etc. HIPAA also guarantees that a certain number of individuals have access to and will be able to renew their individual health care policies. There are some common misconceptions about HIPAA. HIPAA does not require that your employer offer health coverage, it simply protects those with preexisting conditions from being denied health coverage in instances where coverage is already being offered to employees.

HIPAA exists for many reason. This federal law was implemented to safeguard the privacy of patients, doctors, family members, and anyone else in a health care facility. HIPAA also limits the ways employers can exclude you from health care coverage. No longer can you be denied for a preexisting condition. HIPAA signs should be posted explaining these basic concepts of the laws and indicating which facilities do or do not accept Medicare. HIPAA helps people to enroll in group health plans in the event that they lose coverage for any reason. HIPAA also protects a certain number of people within a company from losing their coverage. There are a few misconceptions concerning HIPAA laws.

Why HIPAA Works
HIPAA is important to the construction of any hospital or health care facility. HIPAA not only protects the patients’ privacy, but it also protects the doctors from endless lawsuits and countless court battles. In the past, there has always been a fine line between what is private and what is not. Sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly what is ‘need to know’ and who is on a ‘need to know basis’. People are nosy by nature and privacy can be a huge issue in hospitals. HIPAA laws have eliminated the question mark involved in who needs to know what. These laws clearly spell out who gets to know what information, and more importantly the patient gets to decide who knows what. Doctors no longer have to worry about what can be said in front of whom, because it is simply against the law. There are no questions and there are no grey areas. This is why HIPAA laws work. They help doctors in their day to day operation and they allow patients to feel at ease during a stressful stay in a hospital. A HIPAA sign posted reassuring patients that these are the facts, and no one is going to change them helps with this process as well. A HIPAA sign can be extremely informative, or have just a few bullet points. Either way, there is no doubt that a patient will feel more at ease when they know that they’re interests are number one.

HIPAA works for many reasons. HIPAA laws change the way that doctors and other providers handle their patients. Because of HIPAA these providers care more, and are more careful when handling your private information. HIPAA allows patients to feel much better about their stay in a hospital, because they aren’t constantly paranoid about their privacy. HIPAA creates a place for people to complain when they aren’t being treated fairly. It’s much less likely for a hospital to break the rules if they know that the patients will report their abuse. HIPAA provides countless people with health care coverage that would have been denied it before 1996. Employees can no longer discriminate against you for prior conditions or anything else when they offer coverage. There has always been a grey area concerning what is private and what is public information. For some people everything is private, while others would share their entire life story with a complete stranger. HIPAA makes it clear what is private and what is not. When you know that you are being well taken care of and that your privacy won’t be violated it allows you to focus on what’s really important. This goes for doctors as well. HIPAA eliminates the guessing game doctors used to play about records and information and allows them to do their real job, saving lives.

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HSI manufactures a few HIPAA signs that have simple instructions concerning HIPAA laws and state whether or not the health care facility accepts medicare. Of course, you can customize any sign and have it say exactly what you need or want. A HIPAA sign can state whichever laws are most important within your health care facility and can be different for different areas. Signs that are used in doctor’s spaces should have the information that a doctor needs concerning HIPAA. Signs in patient rooms, lobbies, and common areas should contain information that keeps patients feeling like their rights are protected and aware of any changes or additions they might need to know.

HIPAA signs can be pracically anything you want them to be. These HIPAA signs can say whether or not you accept Medicare, or have tons of HIPAA information on them. HSI creates signs that have what we deem to be the most important information, but they can be customized to include whatever your specific facility needs them to say. HIPAA signs are important to the flow of a hospital and can go a long way towards putting people at ease in an often times uneasy situation. It is important to have HIPAA signs throughout your facility making sure that everyone is aware and abiding by the regulations put in place by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Get the signs you need from Health Care Signs today!