Securing healthcare: HIPAA compliance solutions
Protecting patient data is crucial. Demonstrate your dedication to quality healthcare by staying compliant with HIPAA and the latest industry laws.
What is HIPAA?
The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets national standards to protect sensitive patient health information. It forbids entities, including healthcare providers and related businesses, from revealing protected information to anyone other than the patient and authorized representatives without their explicit consent.
The rocky terrain of HIPAA compliance...
We get it – HIPAA compliance and protecting patients’ personal information is no walk in the park. Here’s a quick look at some questions you might face:
- How can we efficiently monitor and adjust our organization’s employee policies and procedures to protect patient privacy?
- What measures can we implement to identify cybersecurity threats, preventing potential data breaches?
- How do we guarantee ongoing compliance with training requirements for the team?
- How can we proactively oversee compliance with vendors, stakeholders and associates?
Common HIPAA compliance challenges
Navigating HIPAA challenges requires a strategic approach.
-
Getting your team on the same page
Neglecting training could pave the way for data leaks. It’s crucial for staff to undergo training encompassing key HIPAA principles, your organization’s unique policies, and cybersecurity best practices.
-
Protecting Personal Health Information (PHI) is crucial
With rising cyber threats targeting healthcare, companies need to meet HIPAA compliance head-on. Cybersecurity breaches can be catastrophic, potentially creating havoc on your reputation and financial pockets.
-
Go beyond just keeping paperwork “organized”
There’s much to do in documenting your policies and procedures. Not keeping them in check leads to confusion and a lack of best practice.
Show your commitment to protecting patient data
HIPAA plays a vital role in the success of healthcare organizations. How? Let’s examine below:
- Protect PHI and increase patient trust
- Stay compliant with global requirements and avoid reputational damage or penalties
- Unlock strong security posture and improved internal processes
- Adhere to industry standards for protecting patients’ PHI
HIPAA Essentials
HIPAA lays out the minimum data protection standards for healthcare organizations. To tackle requirements head-on, your company needs to:
-
Train employees on HIPAA requirements and best practices
Ensuring compliance with HIPAA begins with a comprehensive training program for employees. This should include educating them on HIPAA regulations, the importance of patient privacy, the need for cybersecurity awareness, and the consequences of non-compliance.
-
Create HIPAA privacy and security policies
Developing robust and well-documented HIPAA privacy and security policies is crucial. These policies should encompass the entire patient data lifecycle, from collection to disposal, and provide clear guidelines on how PHI is handled, stored and transmitted.
-
Monitor your HIPAA safeguards
Constantly monitoring the implemented safeguards is imperative to ensure ongoing compliance. Regular audits, risk assessments and internal reviews should be conducted to identify vulnerabilities or gaps in data protection measures.
-
Manage vendors and third parties with access to data
Many healthcare organizations rely on third-party vendors for various services, such as IT support, cloud storage or data processing. These relationships must be managed effectively to prevent unauthorized access or mishandling of PHI.
NAVEX One: Software solutions to ensure HIPAA compliance
Your employees deserve to know they are working in a company where personal data is respected and protected. NAVEX One ensures your organization and employees have what’s needed to stay compliant.
-
Policy & Procedure Management
Centrally manage your entire policy and procedure lifecycle.
Learn more
-
Whistleblowing & Incident Management
Ensure regulatory compliance, engage your people and build trust in your reputation with NAVEX reporting and whistleblowing solutions.
Learn more
-
Ethics & Compliance Training
Educate and engage your people with online training that speaks in their language, to their experiences.
Learn more
-
Third-Party Screening & Monitoring
Easily identify third parties that share your vision and safeguard your most valuable partnerships with NAVEX One.
Learn more
More insights on HIPAA Compliance in healthcare
Who must comply with HIPAA?
Entities that must comply with HIPAA are defined as “covered entities” and “business associates.” Covered entities are health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers that transmit health information electronically. Business associates are persons or entities that perform certain functions or activities involving the use or disclosure of protected health information on behalf of, or provide services to, a covered entity.
What information is protected under HIPAA?
HIPAA protects all “individually identifiable health information” held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral. This is known as Protected Health Information (PHI). Examples include names, birthdates, medical records, pharmacy prescriptions, and so forth.
What are the main components of HIPAA?
The main components of HIPAA are the Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information; the Security Rule, which sets standards for the security of electronic protected health information; and the Breach Notification Rule, which requires covered entities and business associates to provide notification following a breach of unsecured PHI.
How can an organization become HIPAA-compliant?
An organization can become HIPAA compliant by implementing policies and procedures that meet the requirements of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. This includes conducting risk assessments, training employees, securing patient data, and establishing incident response procedures.
What are the penalties for not complying with HIPAA?
Penalties for not complying with HIPAA can range from $100 to $50,000 per violation, with a maximum penalty of $1.5 million per year for each violation. The exact penalties depend on the nature of the violation and the level of negligence involved.
How does HIPAA compliance affect patients' rights?
HIPAA gives patients certain rights over their health information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records and to request corrections. HIPAA compliance is the set of policies and procedures your healthcare business adopts to allow patients to exercise those rights.
What is a HIPAA breach and how should it be reported?
A HIPAA breach is an impermissible use or disclosure under the Privacy Rule that compromises the security or privacy of the protected health information. Covered entities must provide notification of the breach to affected individuals, the Secretary of HHS, and, in certain circumstances, to the media.
How often should HIPAA training be conducted?
HIPAA requires that all employees of covered entities and business associates receive training on the organization’s privacy and security policies and procedures, as necessary and appropriate for them to carry out their functions. While there is no specific frequency mandated, it is recommended that training be conducted annually or whenever there are significant changes to the regulations or the business practices.
Can individuals file a complaint if they believe their HIPAA rights have been violated?
Yes, individuals can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) if they believe their health information has been used or disclosed in a way that is not compliant with HIPAA or if they believe they have been denied access to their health information.