The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is broadly broken up into four sections: HIPAA BAA RequirementsĬompliance with the rules outlined under HIPAA is required by law if your company holds the personal health information of individuals, and seeks to expand business operations to outside associates. Who needs a business associate agreement?Īll covered entities that plan to share protected health information with a third-party must create a HIPAA-compliant business associate agreement before agreeing to do business together.Īs the electronic sharing of healthcare data and the use of digital and cloud-based storage increases, organizations within and adjacent to the health industry need a business associate agreement in order to operate. Please visit the US Department of Health & Human Service website for more information on how HIPAA defines covered entities and business associates. HIPAA defines a covered entity as any healthcare provider, health insurance plan, or health care clearinghouse that collects and electronically transmits an individual’s protected health information. A pharmacy benefits manager who manages a health plan’s pharmacist network.An independent medical transcriptionist who provides transcription services to a physician.A health care clearinghouse that translates a claim from a non-standard format into a standard transaction on behalf of a healthcare provider, and then forwards the processed transaction to an insurance payer.
steps the business associate must take in the event of a breach.Ī business associate is any individual, agency, or organization that is given protected health information in order to perform a service on behalf of a covered entity.Īn example of a business associate would be:.measures the business associate must take to keep PHI secure.a clause stating the business associate will not use or further disclose PHI other than as permitted by the BAA or as required by law.the business associate’s permitted and required uses and disclosures of PHI.What Is a Business Associate Agreement?Ī HIPAA business associate agreement (BAA) is a written contract detailing both the covered entity and business associate’s responsibilities regarding confidential, personally identifiable health information - and is legally distinct from a non-disclosure agreement. Protect your patients and your business with our free business associate templates, or simplify the process with our online builder. Specifically, you’re required by law to sign a business associate agreement before any work is performed. If your business has access to protected health information and plans to form partnerships with third parties to handle this information, you need this document. HIPAA regulations allow covered entities to hire third party service providers or other persons or businesses (known as business associates), with whom they would disclose protected health information (PHI) in order to assist the covered entity in carrying out its healthcare functions. Since 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has required thousands of companies around the US to create business associate agreements.
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