At Advantage we take your privacy, and the privacy of your patrons, and citizens very seriously. We got to great lengths to ensure that any PII is protected, and that we are compliance with all of the governing principals of privacy acts such as HIPAA, and the Privacy Act of 1974
Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as:
Any representation of information that permits the identity of an individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means. Further, PII is defined as information: (i) that directly identifies an individual (e.g., name, address, social security number or other identifying number or code, telephone number, email address, etc.) or (ii) by which an agency intends to identify specific individuals in conjunction with other data elements, i.e., indirect identification. (These data elements may include a combination of gender, race, birth date, geographic indicator, and other descriptors). Additionally, information permitting the physical or online contacting of a specific individual is the same as personally identifiable information. This information can be maintained in either paper, electronic or other media.
HIPAA Document Management
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) was enacted in 1996 to help protect individuals’ personal health information. Under HIPAA a patient has the right to access his or her own medical records. Patients can request to view or get copies of their records, request modifications to the records and request a listing of disclosures of their protected information. In addition to this HIPAA privacy regulations control how and when protected patient information can be shared by physicians and administrative staff.
From a document management perspective, the real impact is on the privacy and security portion. Due to the stringent rules, a comprehensive and secure document management strategy is becoming a necessity for healthcare providers to fully comply with HIPAA. The guidelines set forth require that all records be secure with limited access. Organizations are required to create privacy policies and procedures and manage the patient records. Utilizing the services of Advantage Information Management Solutions will allow you to archive these records securely and retrieve them on demand, reducing overhead, and improving overall efficiency. Confidentiality of Medical, Personnel and Financial Records has been paramount to our operations for years prior to the introduction of HIPAA. All new employees of Advantage Archives pass background and drug tests, including temporary workers. Our own trucks and drivers provide added security. We sign BAA (Business Associate Agreements) client confidentiality agreements, employ video monitoring of our environment, which has strict entry requirements and operate in a security monitored building.