Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Compliance can seem to be an overwhelming concept, especially since non-compliance can attract hefty fines depending on the gravity of the infraction. It is a smart move for health providers to train or hire a HIPAA specialist who enforces the security standard and oversees the handling of patients protected health information (PHI), together with HIPAA compliant email communication. However, it is still vital for health professionals to learn the fundamentals of the standards of staff compliance in relation to the HIPAA Security Rule. Therefore, ensure your staff follows the following procedures. Because of this Covered Entities are turning to their MSP’s for answers in regards to HIPAA compliance.
Though this will not make you completely compliant in regards to HIPAA Compliance here are a few struggles and tips to becoming HIPAA compliant.
1. Health practitioners must provide adequate training programs to their administrative employees on handling PHI.
2. Ensure you don’t share sensitive information with people who are not authorized to access it, including personal acquaintances or co-workers.
3. Never access patients’ records unless you need them for your work, or with a written authorization from the patient.
4. Avoid occurrences of others overhearing patients’ information and don’t mention a patient’s full names near other people.
5. This article on HIPAA compliance for MSP’s recommends that you secure documents containing PHI in a locker when they are not in use. Cover the charts to ensure a patient’s name is invisible and never leave patients’ records unattended.
6. Exit computer programs that are running a patient’s record information when not in use. Use management systems with automatic timeout settings in this regard.
7. Ensure you don’t send PHI by email unless you cannot avoid it. And when you do, use HIPAA compliant email services.
8. Back up all your disks containing PHI. Using an HIPAA-compliant cloud server to store patients’ information is safer than storing it on a local server or paper in case of data loss due to natural or man-made disasters.
9. Assign specific people different security clearance. This prevents employees from seeing or altering information that doesn’t pertain to their duties.
10. Don’t share passwords with your staff members. The HIPAA specialist should assign each authorized employee a particular password.
11. If you need to dispose properly of information that contains PHI, shred the papers using a shredder.
12. Ensure that your computers have updated antivirus software installed. This will ensure that your records are protected against malware that may put your information at risk.
13. It is also important to ensure that vendors or other business affiliated with you are also keeping proper HIPAA standards as well.
14. Create a catalog of all components of your information system that interact with protected PHI in your office. This will help you to assess the security risk of your office and in turn help you to seal the security loopholes.
HIPAA rules are ever changing, and so you should always be informed to keep up with the new technology. The Compliancy Group offers a HIPAA compliance software that will allow MSP’s, Business Associates and Covered Entities to complete all the necessary steps to become and remain HIPAA compliant quickly and easily.
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