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®
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A try you will... read morePro shred pleasanton ca
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 jobk
Hard worker seem dedicated
Clean cut and fast and friendly ! read lessA Google User4/22/2019You all are fantastic and Romero is always a pleasure to have come into our office. He's always happy and friendly and accommodating of... read moreYou all are fantastic and Romero is always a pleasure to have come into our office. He's always happy and friendly and accommodating of whatever we need. Thank you for the great service you provide to us. =) read less
Erin M.5/01/2019I called to schedule the on site shredding and was immediately taken care care of by the owner "Mike" / He explained the process and... read moreI called to schedule the on site shredding and was immediately taken care care of by the owner "Mike" / He explained the process and scheduled the on site appointment. Romero called a half hour before arrival and was EXTREMELY helpful with his patience and help for getting the necessary document shred completed in a very timely fashion. He's awesome and i really appreciate the direct contact with the owners Mike and Angel... The customer services is TOP NOTCH all the way around from start to finish!!! I recommend their services highly!!! Thanks !!! Peter Cusimano, SAP - NTSI San Jose read less
Peter C.1/19/2018I called to inquire about hard disk drive shredding. Michael answered the phone and said I can come by and it will be taken... read moreI called to inquire about hard disk drive shredding. Michael answered the phone and said I can come by and it will be taken care of.I showed up 30 minutes later. Very nice, clean facility. I even watched as the drives were being shredded and received a certificate. read less
Puzzik f.6/10/2015Excellent service! Will use again in the future. I appreciate the straight forward pricing model, the early morning pick up, the fast service, and courtesy... read moreExcellent service! Will use again in the future. I appreciate the straight forward pricing model, the early morning pick up, the fast service, and courtesy of all employees I came across. Everyone has been professional and great to deal with. Thank you! read less
Eugenia L.4/22/2015We 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.2/20/2020Great service. Fast, secure and reasonably priced. Don't deal with the big guys - locally run business.
Joe C.3/30/2016Amazing 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.1/13/2017My office had over 33 banker's boxes of paper and we felt it was time to move on. We looked into a few other shredding... read moreMy office had over 33 banker's boxes of paper and we felt it was time to move on. We looked into a few other shredding companies, but nothing stood out. Pro shred simply had the best services and price points. Michael, the CEO, was very friendly and professional. He was able to get us scheduled for the week after we called! Romero, one of the employees, came in a few hours earlier than expected but it was at a time that worked better for us. Romero was also very friendly and helpful in terms of explaining the shredding process. I was able to watch the documents get shredded via a TV screen on the side of their truck. Overall, this is a very well run business. We will recommend them to all of our connections. read less
Andrew C.9/02/2015I 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.8/15/2018I just came from Proshred in Pleasanton, was greeted so warmly and kindly by the receptionist, gave me instructions on what to do, drove to... read moreI just came from Proshred in Pleasanton, was greeted so warmly and kindly by the receptionist, gave me instructions on what to do, drove to the back of building, was greeted by the owner, I believe April was her name and she was so kind, informing and professional. She took care of the process and reasonably priced, for sure my go to place from now on. read less
Rodney Figueroa6/04/2019I recently contacted Proshred for a one time residential service. Although it was a small job, Proshred staff made me feel that my job was... read moreI recently contacted Proshred for a one time residential service. Although it was a small job, Proshred staff made me feel that my job was important and that I was valued as a client. Highly recommended!Pros: Excellent customer service, timely responses, and very accommodating for my scheduling needs.Cons: None! read less
Jeanette P.10/23/2018Absolutely recommend PROSHRED. The communication and service was top notch -- they made it incredibly easy to schedule a truck to come to my house... read moreAbsolutely recommend PROSHRED. The communication and service was top notch -- they made it incredibly easy to schedule a truck to come to my house and the shredding visit itself took less than 10 minutes. PROSHRED has a minimum flat rate for 10 boxes which is very reasonable for the convenience of seeing your papers shredded right in front of you without having to drive somewhere to drop off boxes or sit in front of your personal home shredder for hours at a time. Within an hour of submitting a request for a quote I got a call and email back from PROSHRED and had the service visit scheduled easily for a date/time that worked for me. They don't do weekend visits to where I live but gave me a 3 hour window on a weekday and showed up right within that time period. Thanks for the fast, friendly and efficient service! read less
M M.6/22/2020I 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.12/30/2016Quick, easy and professional. I dreaded doing this, but finally got around to pulling all my old documents, checks and financial documents. Thought it was... read moreQuick, easy and professional. I dreaded doing this, but finally got around to pulling all my old documents, checks and financial documents. Thought it was going to be a total hassle and expensive. Not at all - the cost was more than reasonable and the services was great. I highly recommend read less
Bridget B.4/08/2015
