HIPAA - Privacy Act
Provisions of the Act
The scope of the Privacy Act does not apply to every individual but to the records held by an Agency. Certain significant and notable issues relating to the provisions of the Act are enumerated below:
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Privacy Act 1974 |
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Provisions |
Exceptions to Rule (Conditions of Disclosure) |
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Department of Justice specifies: |
√ For statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics |
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All Agency to have a Data Integrity Board |
√ For routine uses within a U.S. government agency |
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Collate and publish data on all complaints and actual occurrences of violations and corrective action taken. |
√ For archival purposes "as a record which has sufficient historical or other value to warrant its continued preservation by the United States Government" |
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√ For law enforcement purposes |
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Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act: |
√ For congressional investigations |
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Act amended the Piracy Act and now codified as a part of the main act, with protections incorporated to ensure the following: |
√ Other administrative purposes |
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→ procedural uniformity to carry out matching programs |
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→ due process for subjects in order to protect their rights |
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→ oversight of matching programs through the establishment of Data Integrity Boards at each agency engaging in matching to monitor the agency's matching activity |
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Access to Records |
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Mandates that each agency maintaining a system of records have to abide by the following: |
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→ upon request by any individual permit him to review the record and have a copy made of all or any portion thereof in a form comprehensible to him |
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→ permit the individual to request amendment of a record pertaining to him |
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Violations of the Act
Criminal penalties are imposable up to $5000 for the following misdemeanor charges:
- Disclosure of personally identifiable in a knowing and willing manner by any officer
- Failure to inform that a system of records is being maintained or the details of such system
- Requesting for an individual’s information under false pretenses
The other violations can be of the nature of Refusal of Access to Records. An individual entitled to access his records the individual can file a suit in the civil court for such refusal. Similarly if an individual is denied persistently to amend his record he can file a suit in the civil court for Refusal to Amend Records. General penalties for Civil Violations of the Privacy Act is also imposed.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_Act_of_1974
http://www.ehow.com/list_6968141_privacy-act-violation-penalties.html
Compliance Trainings
By - Laura S Hargraves
On Demand Access Anytime
By - Joseph Wolfe
On Demand Access Anytime
Compliance Standards
