Please answer Yes or No to each of these questions
Questions
Definitions
What Is a “Business Associate?”
A “business associate” is a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities that involve the use or disclosure of protected health information on behalf of, or provides services to, a covered entity. A member of the covered entity’s workforce is not a business associate. A covered health care provider, health plan, or health care clearinghouse can be a business associate of another covered entity. The Privacy Rule lists some of the functions or activities, and the particular services, that make a person or entity a business associate, if the activity or service involves the use or disclosure of protected health information. The types of functions or activities that may make a person or entity a business associate include payment or health care operations activities, and other functions or activities regulated by the Administrative Simplification Rules.
Business associate functions and activities include: claims processing or administration; data analysis, processing or administration; utilization review; quality assurance; billing; benefit management; practice management; and repricing. Business associate services are: legal; actuarial; accounting; consulting; data aggregation; management; administrative; accreditation; and financial. See the definition of “business associate” at 45 CFR 160.103.
A Covered Entity is one of the following:
A Health Care Provider |
A Health Plan |
A Health Care Clearinghouse |
This includes providers such as: • Doctors • Clinics • Psychologists • Dentists • Chiropractors • Nursing Homes • Pharmacies …but only if they transmit any information in an electronic form in connection with a transaction for which HHS has adopted a standard. |
This includes: • Health insurance companies • HMOs • Company health plans • Government programs that pay for health care, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the military and veterans’ health care programs. |
This includes entities that process nonstandard health information they receive from another entity into a standard (i.e., standard electronic format or data content), or vice versa. |
