It’s a new year, and what better time than now to reevaluate the HIPAA guidelines? Being HIPAA compliant is not only extremely important, but also mandatory for many healthcare organizations. According to the HIPAA guidelines, all health data that is created, stored, maintained, or transmitted must be secure at all times. If any confidential information is not secured properly and medical organizations fail to comply with the HIPAA rules and regulations, then they will be faced with financial penalties and even worse, potential civil suits.
Knowing which common HIPAA violations are out there could be beneficial in helping you to avoid them. Do you know the top ten?
Snooping on Health Care Records: It’s a violation of patient privacy when accessing patient records for reasons other than those permitted by the Privacy Rule.
Failure to Perform an Organization-Wide Risk Analysis: This is one of the most common HIPAA violations that results in a financial penalty. It is very important to perform a risk analysis regularly to address any confidentiality vulnerabilities and avoid hackers.
Failure to Manage Security Risks/Lack of a Risk Management Process: Any identified risks need to be addressed and prioritized, and subjected to a risk management process.
Failure to Enter into a HIPAA Compliant Business Associate Agreement: Another common HIPAA violation is failure to enter into a HIPAA-compliant business associate agreement with all vendors that have access to PHI.
Insufficient ePHI Access Controls: Entities and their business associates must limit access to ePHI access controls, otherwise they will be faced with several financial penalties.
Failure to Use Encryption to Safeguard ePHI on Portable Devices: Encrypting PHI is one of the most effective ways of preventing a data breach.
Exceeding the 60-Day Deadline for Issuing Breach Notifications: It is required to issue notifications of breaches in a timely matter, specifically no later than 60 days since the discovery of the incident.
Impermissible Disclosures of Protected Health Information: Any confidential information, such as protected health information, that is disclosed without permission can result in a financial penalty.
Improper Disposal of PHI: All physical PHI and ePHI that is no longer needed must be permanently and securely destroyed.
Denying Patients Access to Health Records/Exceeding Timescale for Providing Access: Patients have the right to access their own medical records and obtain copies when requested. It is a HIPAA violation to deny access, or over charge, for that service.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, or don’t know where to start, CATS Technology Solutions Group will be able to assist you from start to finish so it is a smooth and easy process!
