Archive for the ‘Reference and Education’ Category
August 25th, 2011 | 
Author: The general population has many needs that have to be met on a regular basis. Health is usually at the top of the list, which is why there are numerous health professionals working to improve and maintain health in society. Public health is a popular career because it allows professionals to work with a variety of people and areas. Online career training is becoming a prevalent way for students to earn a degree in public health.
The profession spans across a large range of areas and activities, but all the work focuses on the evaluation and regulation of health for the public. Professionals target general or specific areas, which can include nutrition or a metropolitan city’s healthcare system. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in 
The opportunity to receive the training that is necessary to enter into a health care career is available through accredited schools, colleges, and degree programs. You can train for an exciting profession in the medical field by enrolling in an educational program. Studies can be completed at various levels and in the specialized area of your choice. Accredited higher education programs are designed to help you receive the skills and knowledge that is necessary to enter into a successful career in this field. You can begin by learning a number of things about receiving an education in health care.
Read the rest of this entry »
Health care degree training programs allow students to train for an exciting new career in the medical field. Students can gain an education in this field by enrolling with an accredited school or college. Obtaining a certificate or degree in health care can open a world of opportunities for students looking to start a new career. There are a range of degrees to choose from when looking to enter a training program.
Students looking to obtain an accredited degree in the field can do so at various levels of education. These levels of degrees available include:
Read the rest of this entry »
Along with health information technology (HIT), HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is an essential component of the maelstrom of activity driving dynamic changes in the healthcare industry. Some industry professionals claim HIPAA laws are outpacing technology. The centerpiece of the HIT space is protected health information (PHI), which has been traditionally stored in hard copy files and now is moving towards digitalization with the ultimate goal of electronic health records (EHRs). Fueled by generous federal incentives to organizations that show meaningful use of EHRs, EHRs will be not only fully integrated across all departments within a healthcare organization, but will be accessible first on a regional and then on a national level. The proliferation of EHRs’ interoperability and accessibility to multiple providers and payers result in PHI disclosure, thus making it vulnerable to privacy and security breaches.
This is where HIPAA comes in. Initially, HIPAA policies were designed to provide a common thread among radically different state privacy and security laws, and were intended to establish “the floor” or a bare minimum to protect patients’ privacy of health and benefit information. A recent provision to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, called, the HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act is an essential addendum to HIPAA laws that should be familiar to handlers of PHI. HITECH raised the bar of specific privacy and security policies. For example, two new categories were added that constitute HIPAA criminal violations with increased enforcement and civil penalties. Enforcement agencies are sharpening their pencils to begin audits in the near future and will hold healthcare organizations and business associates accountable for security violations and noncompliance via fines.
If your job role requires you to come into contact with PHI, HIT professionals urge you, at a minimum, to have a rudimentary understanding of HIPAA. More than ever, it is essential that you understand how HIPAA Privacy and Security rules apply to your handling of protected health information at your workplace.