Published in conjunction with the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the Fourth Edition of Medical Records and the Law is once again the ideal text for programs in HIM as well as a valuable reference resource for health professionals and those in the legal profession. Providing a useful resource to those in the legal profession, it addresses the substantial changes brought about by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the growth of electronic health record systems and electronic data networks, retaining and updating the discussion of state laws affecting the use and disclosure of health information. This book also discusses the highly complex interplay of federal and state health information privacy laws. The Fourth Edition addresses the challenging area of how patient information may be used in connection with medical research involving human subjects. Features: With the evolution in how health information is created, stored, retrieved, used, and transmitted, the need for protection has resulted in new and comprehensive regulation in the form of HIPAA, and this book addresses its voluminous privacy, security, identifier, code set, and transactions regulations. Medical Records and the Law, Fourth Edition provides the tools healthcare providers and government agents need, at all levels, given the increased focus on accountability for the quality of health care. This book focuses on, the reduction of errors and rapid access to electronic health records as essential and fundamental parts of successful quality improvement efforts. Book jacket.