Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
What is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?
HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This federal act applies to every hospital, medical clinic or dental office that stores the confidential information of their patients and each of these institutions must comply with this act. The goal of this act is to keep patient records secure and confidential during when they are in storage. HIPAA also applies to the proper destruction of patient files when they no longer need to be stored.
HIPAA helps to provide security and privacy of personal health information, including but not limited to health insurance plans, electronic healthcare transactions and personal identifiers.
Who is subject to HIPAA Compliance?
HIPAA is a federal act, and virtually applies to every hospital, medical clinic or dental office that stores the sensitive information of their patients; each of these institutions must comply with this law. All health care providers and institutions, plus any business associates, are mandated to establish and follow strict processes that guarantee the confidentiality and security of protected health information (PHI) when it is transferred, received, handled, or shared. This includes all forms of PHI, such as documents, oral conversations, and electronic data. In addition, it’s important that only health information that’s absolutely required to perform business duties is used or shared.
What are my Rights Under HIPAA?
Generally speaking as a patient, you expect that your medical and other health information is kept private, and want to be informed on who has access to this information. The Privacy Rule, which is also a Federal law, provides you with specific rights over your health information and creates rules and limits on exactly who can review and receive your confidential health information.
The Privacy Rule requires HIPAA covered entities to supply individuals upon request, with access to their protected health information (PHI) in one or more “designated record sets” that is currently in the hands of a healthcare provider. This refers to the right to review or take a copy, of the particular record, or to have a copy of the PHI transmitted to a person of choice. As a patient, you have the right and ability to access your PHI for the duration it’s maintained at your particular health care institution. Individuals have a right to access this PHI for as long as the information is maintained by a covered entity. This remains the case regardless of the date the information was created, and whether or not the information is in paper or electronic format. This is a given right; the only downside to this law is that healthcare entities are able to charge for this service if they wish.
Who does HIPAA Protect?
HIPAA creates a national standard, and is in place to protect individuals’ medical records and other personal health information.
Why is HIPAA Important?
HIPAA allows you to instruct who may represent you on your behalf should there be an emergency or accident that inhibits you from communicating on your own. This is crucial for your safety, and can be one trusted individual or you may ask multiple people to speak for you in these circumstances. HIPAA was designed to protect patient and their confidentiality. All healthcare institutions must have a compliance department so if you are concerned that there is a compliance issue or breach of data get in touch with this department immediately to look after your issue.
Where can I find more information about HIPAA?
To learn more, visit this link: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/guidance-materials-for-consumers
What People Are Saying About PROSHRED®
Michael was wonderful! The ladies are also wonderful and very helpful.Michael helped with my personal shredding questions and when I got there I was really... read moreMichael was wonderful! The ladies are also wonderful and very helpful.Michael helped with my personal shredding questions and when I got there I was really impressed with the handling of my business, so much so I brought in a laptop that I wanted to get the hard drive out and destroy. Michael took it out of the laptop for me and recycled the laptop also. This is an amazing place. Don't loose sleep over your privacy they are totally professional and just the nicest people to work with. Heck I would love to work there just based on meeting them and seeing how they run their business.Badonna read less
Badonna B.9/29/2016Amazing Customer Service! I called prior to heading to the Pleasanton location and was informed the price, and exactly what to do. Upon arrival, I... read moreAmazing Customer Service! I called prior to heading to the Pleasanton location and was informed the price, and exactly what to do. Upon arrival, I went into the office paid, and sent my employee around back with the banker boxes. Michael was back there and instantly started helping unload the banker boxes from the vehicle. The lady at front desk was kind enough to give me a hard copy receipt as well as allow me to take a short cut through their office and warehouse to where my employee was parked unloading the boxes. I would highly recommend this company based on customer service and timeliness. The price was great too! read less
Andi B.1/13/2017Angel is fast. Called me back almost right the way with quotation and scheduled an appointment. The shredding associates were also professional, on... read moreAngel is fast. Called me back almost right the way with quotation and scheduled an appointment. The shredding associates were also professional, on time, and efficient. Will use their services again next year. read less
Tony Q.1/29/2020Pro shred pleasanton fantastic company Pro shred employee great Worker fast and efficiency. Super job well maintained
Equiptment real nice job Today !I highly reccomend.give them
A... read morePro shred pleasanton fantastic company Pro shred employee great Worker fast and efficiency. Super job well maintained
Equiptment real nice job Today !I highly reccomend.give them
A try you will like.the guy that serviced us did very nice job
Hard worker seem dedicated clean cut and fast and friendly ! read lessJim Feaster4/22/2019We are relocating and wanted a one time shredding service. I spoke with Angel who fully explained their services and we opted to have the... read moreWe are relocating and wanted a one time shredding service. I spoke with Angel who fully explained their services and we opted to have the onsite visit. One the day of the service I was given a window when the truck would arrive and it did so - a little early which was nice - and Todd removed, what took weeks to pile up, within a matter of minutes. Extremely helpful and friendly.An all around excellent experience. They do what they say, when they say they're going to do it, for the price they say they're going to do it for. With efficiency and a smile.I'm managing our relocation and dealing with multiple vendors. I could only wish they were all as easy to deal with as Proshred!! read less
Roger W.2/20/20202 years later and we're all still (very!) happy with our service experience w/ ProShred. Great customer service and quick communication. Angel is a dream... read more2 years later and we're all still (very!) happy with our service experience w/ ProShred. Great customer service and quick communication. Angel is a dream to work with! read less
Julia J.3/11/2019Awesome service. Mike was friendly and answered all my questions thoroughly. Hard drive destruction especially impressive. Have used others and Pro-shred my top choice. Highly recommend.
Gustavo S.9/24/2017Fantastic customer service! They are reliable and professional. They offer great rates and there are never any surprises. Everything is explained thoroughly and with our... read moreFantastic customer service! They are reliable and professional. They offer great rates and there are never any surprises. Everything is explained thoroughly and with our best interests in mind. I highly recommend Proshred to anyone looking for shredding services. read less
Dotty D.6/14/2018I called Proshred, last week, to set an appointment to have them shred about 15 boxes of old files. The following week gave me more... read moreI called Proshred, last week, to set an appointment to have them shred about 15 boxes of old files. The following week gave me more time to put everything in boxes. I had never had anything shredded before so I was wondering how to get everything to them. Mike explained that I could have a truck come to my home, I was thrilled.They showed up a little early, the gentleman was very friendly and professional, cut open all my boxes, dumped them in a large garbage can, took them out to the truck and put them through a shredded, right infront of me. I have no question about them being handled properly.This company is really easy to work with, very professional and I highly recommend them and will use them again, when I have papers to shred.Thank you, Proshred read less
Marilyn L.8/15/2018Awesome service! We had 80 boxes of documents to be shredded. I contacted them yesterday morning, truck was at our office at 7:15 this morning.... read moreAwesome service! We had 80 boxes of documents to be shredded. I contacted them yesterday morning, truck was at our office at 7:15 this morning. Romero worked professionally and quickly in the pouring rain. He was done in 45 minutes. I would highly recommend them & will be using their services again next year! read less
Erin R.2/07/2017I am so thankful to a friend of mine for referring me to Angel and Michael and Proshred. They are very professional and friendly. We... read moreI am so thankful to a friend of mine for referring me to Angel and Michael and Proshred. They are very professional and friendly. We will certainly recommend them to others who are in need of secured shredding services. read less
Leilani S.9/08/2017We host an annual Shred Event for our real restate business and this locally owned business is the type of partner we want. Professional, well... read moreWe host an annual Shred Event for our real restate business and this locally owned business is the type of partner we want. Professional, well run, the best equipment and trucks, friendly employees, on time - this is how you do it! Thank you Mike and keep up the great work!! read less
Greg S.5/23/2017I worked with Angel and Freddie. These two were the dream team. All logistics were handled over a few emails (very pleasant emails... read moreI worked with Angel and Freddie. These two were the dream team. All logistics were handled over a few emails (very pleasant emails I might add). Freddie was my onsite shredder and he was prompt, very helpful and easy to work with for the shredding. Angel sent the invoice... right away. What a great service! read less
Jeannette E.4/04/2017Excellent company to work with. I had a bad fail with another company and I needed same day service. Proshred was the only company in... read moreExcellent company to work with. I had a bad fail with another company and I needed same day service. Proshred was the only company in the Bay Area that was able to accommodate. Easy, helpful, and courteous team. read less
Jen G.3/29/2017I needed to clean out 30 years of documents from my Mom's garage. One phone call, one email - and we were all set.... read moreI needed to clean out 30 years of documents from my Mom's garage. One phone call, one email - and we were all set. The technician arrived on time, was courteous, and finished faster than I expected. I would use them again in a heartbeat - only it'll take another 30 years to accumulate that much stuff read less
Jonathan V.12/30/2016
