When it comes to protecting your patients' private information, complying with HIPAA isn't an option. However, depending on your type of health business, it can be a challenge to know if you need to comply with the requirements.
HIPAA violations can be expensive, in addition to affecting the lives of your patients. To protect your patients and your business, it's critical to understand current regulations and create procedures to avoid violations.
How can you know if your business needs to comply with the HIPAA Security Rule? Here are five signs your practice needs it.
What is HIPAA?
The cute acronym doesn't convey the serious nature of HIPAA laws and violations. HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This legislation makes sure health-related business keep patients' PHI (protected health information) private and secure.
With HIPAA in place, patients can trust that their doctors, pharmacists, and other medical interactions keep identifying information confidential. But, when a breach violates patient trust, the consequences are severe.
Patients are at risk of harm in their personal or professional life, and they can face insurance challenges. Businesses can lose the ability to practice and face significant fines.
The Security Rule
Do you know if your business should follow HIPAA security compliance? The HIPAA Security Rule deals specifically with private patient information transferred electronically. This rule governs the technical and non-technical safeguards for the methods and tools used to transfer patient medical information.
You might need to comply with the Security Rule if any of the following things apply to your business.
1. You Deal Directly With Patients
Assume that if your company has direct contact with patients, you follow all aspects of HIPAA—even the Security Rule.
If you use electronic methods of collecting, processes, reading, and sending confidential patient information, your business must comply. Your office staff must learn how to keep electronic patient data safe.
2. You Have Non-Medical Employees
HIPAA Security Rule compliance extends to all employees in your medical practice. Even if you have staff that never encounter patients, all employees must understand how to comply and follow your procedures to ensure security.
Non-medical employees can come into contact with patient information. Your billing department or insurance specialist will review patient files and transfer information electronically.
3. You Have Different Electronic Security Levels
The secure storage of ePHI (electronically protected health information) should have limited access. Not all of your employees need access to where that information lives on your servers or secure cloud storage.
Your business must comply with the protection of the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of this electronically stored, private information for your patients. Restricting access to essential personnel is critical.
4. You Deal With Data, but Not With Patients
Outsourced medical billing, third-party radiology consultants and other medical entities that deal with records, billing, files, or imaging must follow the HIPAA Security Rule.
Your staff might never see a patient in-person. But handling PHI for doctors or other medical offices requires procedures and technical safeguards to protect patient data.
5. You've Had a Breach
A breach indicates you need to increase your level of security for your business. At the first sign of your first breach, review your policies, procedures, and security to make sure you comply with the HIPAA Security Rule.
You aren't alone if you've experienced a breach. Medical-related businesses are a frequent target for cyber breaches. The important thing is to report the breach to HHS (Health and Human Services), then take steps to avoid another breach.
How Can You Comply?
Protecting private patient information is a top priority for all medical-related businesses. From doctors offices to billing companies, the electronic chain of communication needs to be safe and secure.
Full compliance with the Security Rule covers three aspects of electronic communication:
Technical safeguards. You must encrypt data, and software must meet security specifications.
Physical safeguards. This includes servers, clouds, or remote data centers where you store business data. You must also make sure computers and mobile devices follow appropriate security setups.
Administrative safeguards. Proper training for staff helps them follow property security measures. You'll also need regular risk-assessments to make sure employees and procedures maintain proper security.
Failure to comply in any of these areas can result in a violation of the HIPAA policy. It's a serious matter, but there's help to make sure you stay compliant.
Best Practices for Best Security Compliance
For medical professionals, it can be overwhelming to follow the Security Rule when your focus is on helping patients. Follow these tips for compliance:
Review all the information and recommendations provided by HHS.
Hire a security officer. They'll stay up to date on changes in the law and manage all aspects of technical, physical, and administrative safeguards.
Use recommend password protection and encryption for all data.
Apply security practices that fit your specific needs.
The Security Rule is scalable to your size and type of business. While it's critical to comply, not all medical-related companies need to comply in the same ways.
It's not an area where you want to guess about the best security measures to make sure you comply. Working with a technical and cybersecurity expert who understands Security Rule compliance can get you on the right track.
Don't Fear the HIPAA Security Rule
While the HIPAA Security Rule is primarily for the benefit of patients, it's also in place to protect you from breaches and lawsuits. But, when practicing medicine is your area of expertise, you need an IT expert to help you put the right security procedures and protections in place.
Assured Technologies provides consulting services for medical business of all kinds. We'll audit your current set-up and make recommendations to get your systems up to compliance standards. If you need help with implementation, we'll do that for you, too.
Contact us to get started on your Security Rule audit and protections!