HIPAA Privacy Office

Bertram C. Oparaku, JD, MPH, CHC, CHPC
Chief Privacy Officer
Phone: 956-665-2652
Email: privacy@utrgv.edu

COMPLIANCE HOTLINE
(877) 882-3999

PRINTABLE FORMS OF INTEREST

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What is HIPAA and why did it come about?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by Congress in 1996 to:

  • Allow employees to take their health insurance coverage with them when moving from one employer with a group health plan to another
  • Safeguard the privacy and security of protected health information provided during health care activities
  • Establish a unique National Provider Identifier (NPI) to assist in identifying health care providers

In an effort to increase awareness of our privacy practices among our patients, and to comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule, UTRGV provides a Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) to patients when a treating relationship is established between the patient and one of our health care providers.

This NPP brochure outlines the rights and responsibilities of UTRGV (Clinics, health care providers, research laboratories, and pharmacies) and the patient concerning protected health information related to care they receive from us.

After presenting the patient with the brochure, our staff members must make a good faith effort to collect a signature from the patient acknowledging receipt of the NPP brochure.

Our privacy practices may be obtained in English and Español.

The NPP contains information about a standardized set of patient rights, applicable to all patients, regardless of where they seek medical care. These rights include:

  • The right to receive a facility-specific NPP
  • The right to confidential communications (to call you at a certain number or use a specific mailing address when communicating about your care)
  • The right to an accounting of disclosures (to whom UTRGV provides information about you)
  • The right to amend medical records (to correct erroneous information)
  • The right to file a complaint alleging a violation of patient privacy with the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • The right to request restrictions (access to your protected health information)