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How Medical Practices can Boost HIPAA Compliance Efforts and Improve Professional Skills?

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HIPAA Data Breach

It is time for medical practices to revamp their security model!

On Monday, Community Health Systems announced that an external group of hackers attacked its computer network and stole the non-medical data of 4.5 million patients. The news proves that you cannot turn a blind eye towards data breach.  It has not stopped and this one is the second largest HIPAA security breach. Security breaches have affected more than 500 individuals. The security breaches till date, reported to the Secretary of Office of Civil Rights are listed in a detailed summary.

It’s time for a reality check!

The security of patient health information is a top priority for any healthcare service not only to be in compliance with HIPAA but also to assure that patients don’t switch services. The subcontractor who’s business associate of the hospital fails in some cases to ensure that the server which holds patients medical/non-medical data is secure.

What programs need to be conducted by top IT leaders to improve their security model?

Every business associate promises and serves its best to protect its data from all sorts of thefts. But is it right to pass the buck to the business associate or the subcontractor? Shouldn’t the hospitals keep track of updates with their associates from the day they sign the deal? The CIO, CISOs and CSOs of the organisation can learn and run the following programs to improve their security model:

  • It’s time for the top security officials of an organisation to understand the various threats that have happened and the need for skilled and accomplished professionals to manage data security.
  • The IT security officers should gain more expertise in dealing with risk management. Making the privacy policies tight can change the face of the security model of the organisation.
  • The time has come for the doctors, payers and the vendor members to discuss together about their security breach experiences, which will help them come with a stronger security model.
  • The members of healthcare organisations need to have a deep understanding of types of security and theft intelligence.
  • The security force needs to be educated about the most penetrating threats and how they can protect any security breach.

 

Are you worried about HIPAA audits? Tips to come out unscathed!

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Are you worried about HIPAA audits? Tips to come out unscathed!

Don’t let a HIPAA audit catch your practice off-guard!

HIPAA audits are painful and unwelcome. But failing an audit can be a disastrous and a huge blow to the reputation of medical practices. Despite guidelines being formulated every other day, there is, very little coordinated effort being taken by healthcare organizations to meet them. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

Put these ten tips into action to prevent your medical practice from penalized by auditors. It is a team effort so rope in employees and make a cohesive effort, to stay HIPAA compliant. There are lot of plates spinning and deadlines to meet. So it is important you chalk up a plan and tick things off a checklist to stay on track and move towards complete HIPAA compliance.

  • Run a thorough end to end risk analysis check across the entire organization. Check your documentation management and informational security policies.
  • Devise clear cut policies such as passwords for accessing information and that all images such as scans are securely encrypted.
  • Invest in workforce training. Conduct regular workshops for all your employees on operating procedures and security protocols.
  • Monitor closely if all the newly implemented procedures are working in the first place. Check and re-check the progress of each strategy created to meet HIPAA guidelines.
  • Keep clinical documentation updated and maintain a report of your security procedures and documentation. This will help when auditors ask for evidentiary documents.
  • Create a contingency plan. In a landscape that is constantly shifting things may not play out the way you plan. Having a plan B is important too.
  • Revised HIPAA guidelines place emphasis on business associates and subcontractors being HIPAA compliant. Discuss with your business associates about the security measures they have to follow and keep tabs on the physical and informational security they provide.
  •  Laptops and paper based records are the major reasons of data breaches. Almost 202 cases of data breaches due to stolen or lost laptops have been recorded according to a 2014 survey. Prohibit employees from bringing laptops or digital storage devices to office.
  • If you work with a business associate and need to share medical information insist that your partner has a secure VPN connection to transmit and receive medical data.