HIPAA Compliance: Protecting Patients’ Rights

doctor performing lab research

Research is an invaluable part of developing viable treatments and cures for a whole range of different health concerns. But research doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It relies on the valuable information that can be provided by patients like you who can offer first-person descriptions and data. The information provided through patient studies can offer details and valuable insight that help researchers do their work.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the assistance of patients providing personal information to aid a study. In order to protect yourself and the information you provide, it’s of paramount importance that you ensure studies are performed by HIPAA-compliant companies. If you’re considering taking part in medical research, it’s in your best interest to be sure they comply with HIPAA regulations before agreeing to participate. We here at Echo Project Management Group understand how valuable it is to protect your personal information, which is why we only work with HIPPA-compliant research groups and companies.

patient sharing her opinion

What Is HIPAA?

HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Essentially, it’s legislation designed to safeguard all “protected health information” and ensure that sensitive health information can only be accessed by authorized individuals. With HIPAA legislation in place, hospitals and clinics, health insurance providers, healthcare-related organizations, and anyone else with access to information about your health and medical history has to ensure they take measures to keep that data secure. There are also regulations in place about the necessary permission you must provide before any of those entities can share your information. This is why, when you visit a new doctor, they often have to have you sign an information release form before they can get your medical records from a previous doctor.

Without HIPAA, those protections wouldn’t necessarily be in place, and there would be no single set of protections across the board. For example, without HIPAA, your health insurance provider could give your full medical history to an employer without your consent — or even without informing you beforehand. Fortunately, HIPAA legislation ensures that there are specific requirements in place to make sure those with access to your medical information have to take measures to protect it and only disseminate it when it’s appropriate and legally permissible to do so. HIPAA also makes sure there are repercussions in place if any of those entities fail to protect your personal medical information appropriately.

Keep Your Information Protected

HIPAA ensures your health information is kept private and secure, gives you the right to obtain any records about your healthcare data, and requires that any group with your information will notify you in the event of a data breach. These measures are all in place to give you as much control over your healthcare information as possible and to ensure that data can’t be accessed by just anyone. Here at Echo Project Management Group, we only work with HIPAA-compliant research groups to ensure that your medical information will be secure with any study you join. If you want more information, give us a call or join our panel today to safely and securely help advance medical research!