Whois & Analysis for hcpro.com

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was enacted by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996.

It has been known as the Kennedy–Kassebaum Act or Kassebaum–Kennedy Act after two of its leading sponsors.

This is interpreted rather broadly and includes any part of an individual's medical record or payment history.

Covered entities must disclose PHI to the individual within 30 days upon request.

They also must disclose PHI when required to do so by law such as reporting suspected child abuse to state child welfare agencies.

Patient safety is a discipline that emphasizes safety in health care through the prevention, reduction, reporting, and analysis of medical error that often leads to adverse effects.

The frequency and magnitude of avoidable adverse events experienced by patients was not well known until the 1990s, when multiple countries reported staggering numbers of patients harmed and killed by medical errors.

Recognizing that healthcare errors impact 1 in every 10 patients around the world, the World Health Organization calls patient safety an endemic concern.

Indeed, patient safety has emerged as a distinct healthcare discipline supported by an immature yet developing scientific framework.

There is a significant transdisciplinary body of theoretical and research literature that informs the science of patient safety.

The resulting patient safety knowledge continually informs improvement efforts such as: applying lessons learned from business and industry, adopting innovative technologies, educating providers and consumers, enhancing error reporting systems, and developing new economic incentives.

Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life.

Nurses may be differentiated from other health care providers by their approach to patient care, training, and scope of practice.

Nurses practice in many specialisms with differing levels of prescriber authority.

Many nurses provide care within the ordering scope of physicians, and this traditional role has shaped the public image of nurses as care providers.

However, nurses are permitted by most jurisdictions to practice independently in a variety of settings depending on training level.

In the postwar period, nurse education has undergone a process of diversification towards advanced and specialized credentials, and many of the traditional regulations and provider roles are changing.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and health insurance portability standards.

In addition to these programs, CMS has other responsibilities, including the administrative simplification standards from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), quality standards in long-term care facilities (more commonly referred to as nursing homes) through its survey and certification process, clinical laboratory quality standards under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, and oversight of HealthCare.gov.

The Joint Commission is a United States-based nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c) organization that accredits more than 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States.

There is also an international branch that accredits medical services around the world.

A majority of state governments recognize Joint Commission accreditation as a condition of licensure and the receipt of Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.