Background and HIPAA Requirements:

Maintaining the privacy and security of medical records is an extremely important duty and indeed one that is mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires covered entities (health plans, healthcare clearinghouses and healthcare providers) to make reasonable efforts to limit the use or disclosure of, and requests for protected health information (PHI) to the minimum necessary to accomplish the intended purposes. The uses of PHI are limited to those related to treatment, payment and healthcare operations (TPO). Covered entities are further required to contractually bind other entities (Business Associates) with whom they share Protected Health Information to ensure that those entities also comply with restrictions related to PHI.

SNSDSL Commitment:

SNSDSL is committed to ensuring that all necessary policies, procedures and safeguards are in place at all times to comply with HIPAA Privacy Rule requirements in the handling of protected health information in all areas of the company and with any and all business associates or sub-contractors that are permitted access to PHI. 

Policies & Procedures:

HIPAA Security Policies and Procedures fall into the following three categories: Business Practices Workflow & Application Security Data Center Physical & Electronic Security