Volunteer’s First name ______________________ Last Name__________________________
Effective Date: 1-10-07
UNDERSTANDING OF CONFIDENTIALITY
The first-ever federal privacy standards to protect patients’ / clients’ medical records and
other health information provided to health plans, doctors, hospitals, social workers, and
other providers took effect on April 14th, 2003. Developed by the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS), these new standards provide patients / clients with access to
their medical records and more control over how their personal health information is used
and disclosed. They represent a uniform, federal floor of privacy protections for
consumers across the country. State laws providing additional protections to consumers
are not affected by this new rule.
Congress called on HHS to issue privacy protections as part of the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA included provisions
designed to encourage electronic transactions and also required new safeguards to protect
the security and confidentiality of protected health information (PHI). Most providers
were required to comply with these federal standards beginning April 14th, 2003. HHS has
conducted extensive outreach and provided guidance and technical assistance to these
providers and businesses to make it as easy as possibly for them to implement the new
privacy protections. These efforts include answers to hundreds of common questions about
the rule, as well as explanations and descriptions about key elements of the rule. These
materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.
The new privacy regulations ensure a national floor of privacy protections for patients by
limiting the ways that health plans, pharmacies, hospitals and other covered entities such as
The Salvation Army can use clients’ PHI. The regulations protect medical records and
other individually identifiable health information, whether it is on paper, in computers, or
communicated orally. (Nongard, 2006)
Effective March 1st, 2007, all corps and service centers under the Dallas / Ft. Worth
Metroplex Command will be required to maintain HIPAA compliance. This is extended to
not only staff members, but volunteers and Advisory Board members as well.
POLICY
All full-time and part-time staff, volunteers, Advisory Board members, and other
individuals who interact with The Salvation Army and The Salvation Army’s clients must
adhere to the HIPAA policies of the agency. This form recognizes an understanding of
The Salvation Army’s policy regarding HIPAA .
________________________________________________ _________________
Signature of staff, volunteer, or other individual
Date signed ________________________________________________
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