Stay HIPAA Compliant With These Standard Practices

What You Need to Know First

HIPAA, which stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was signed into law to make health insurance coverage more accessible to individuals who lose or change their jobs and hold healthcare organizations accountable to keep the confidentiality and privacy of healthcare data. When a patient’s information is impermissibly used and accessed in any way, it counts for a data breach. A data breach compromises the security of Protected Health Information (PHI) and the affiliated entity will face certain sanctions for the violation of the HIPAA law.



The Standard Practices to Follow to Avoid HIPAA Violations

The national standard of HIPAA is to protect sensitive PHI from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. Failure to comply, either unintentionally or not, is considered a violation punishable by law. To avoid such lawsuits, fines, and penalties, your organization needs to remember that protecting patient healthcare data is the top, most priority. And following these practices can help prevent HIPAA violations:

Conduct HIPAA training 

Some incidents of breaches are reported to be insider-caused or human error. One of the mistakes that employees commonly make is clicking suspicious email links. Educate your staff and regularly conduct HIPAA training to ensure everyone in your organization knows the do’s and don’ts, including any changes and updates to regulations to prevent HIPAA violations.

Update software

Vulnerable software is an easy opening that can be targeted to steal your data. When your system notifies or prompts available security and software updates, don’t skip it. It is the most effective first line of defense against data breaches. Install the updates immediately and as soon as possible.

Properly dispose and store medical records

Many fall victim to distraction, paying no attention to the files they’re handling. When that happens, PHIs can potentially be accessed and viewed. Switching to electronic filing systems is the best way to protect and store medical documents. If your healthcare business is still using paper files, constantly stress to properly dispose of records that are no longer needed. 

Secure work devices and facilities

Keeping data breaches at bay involves secured equipment and facilities. Work devices such as laptops, tablets, and mobiles must have locks if not in use. Similarly, your organization’s healthcare offices and clinics should have installed biometrics to make sure that only allowed personnel is going in and out of your facilities. 

Enable firewalls

Some of the crucial measures that guarantee the protection of work devices are encryptions, firewalls, and user authentication processes. Through a software program, these technologies can be configured to lock or wipe out a device whenever necessary or in case a work device is stolen or misplaced. The encryptions and firewalls must be up-to-date for them to work.

HIPAA violations can be severe and can badly hurt your healthcare business. But, on the other hand, it can easily be prevented by simply learning all about them and following the rules and regulations that HIPAA entails.

Learning and Adhering to HIPAA Rules Save Your Organization from Inconvenience

There are many ways that HIPAA can be violated. And having a HIPAA violation record is not good for the reputation of your business as it may gravely suffer long term. Not only will you have to deal with the expenses for the offense, but you will also lose clients. Also, other third-party partners will want to end the relationship with your company. Torn ties will further reduce your bottom line and revenue and ultimately ruin your business.

However, consistently practicing compliance and standard methods and procedures as mandated by the HIPAA law saves your entire organization from the trouble and inconvenience that it may cause. Ensuring that everyone in your organization is up to speed and educated with the customs and guidelines is the proper precaution that your organization must proactively take.

Learn all about MedVision’s HIPAA-compliant administrative platform.