HIPAA Basics for Home Care
A practical, real-world guide to client privacy: what HIPAA protects, how it applies specifically to in-home caregiving, and how to avoid common privacy mistakes.
What HIPAA Protects
HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) protects a client's Protected Health Information (PHI) -- diagnoses, medications, treatment details, appointment information, and any health-related information that could identify the person -- from being shared with anyone who doesn't need it to provide care. This applies whether the information is spoken, written, or electronic, and it applies to you as a caregiver even if your agency isn't the one legally designated as a 'covered entity' -- the expectation of privacy is the same.
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