When it comes to HIPAA compliance, a large focus is devoted to IT security. Agencies spend big money on firewalls, malware and antivirus software to protect their network from hackers. Rightfully so, these precautions are important for client protected health information (PHI) security. While large breaches that affect millions of patients garner much more media [...]
HIPAA Violations, What Can You Learn from People's Mistakes A HIPAA violation by North Memorial Health Care of Minnesota recently resulted in a $1.55 million settlement due to a 2011 breach by fault of their business associate, Accretive Health. An unencrypted laptop that contained protected health information for 289,904 individuals was stolen from an Accretive [...]
How does an agencies HIPAA practices stack up to the governments? Agency have their interpretation of HIPAA compliance. I have worked with hundreds of agencies. They know that because they signed Business Associate agreements with carriers, they are legally required to be HIPAA compliant. But, they usually fall well short of what is required. This [...]
HIPAA Risk Analysis Prevents Violations & Penalties A risk analysis is the first security requirement of HIPAA. The government is cracking down on organizations who fail to complete risk analyses. Not performing a security risk analysis was one of the biggest compliance failures of the government’s audit program. Nearly two-thirds of entities audited were found [...]
Evaluate PHI Policies and Procedures with Frequent Risk Assessments Health and Human Services’ notorious Wall of Shame, listing names of organizations with HIPAA breaches, is the last place your agency wants to see its name publicized. A majority of offenders were victim to theft of devices that held sensitive client files with PHI (Protected Health [...]
HIPAA Myths and Facts Myth 1 – I don’t sell health insurance, so I don’t have to worry about HIPAA. Myth 2 – A breach will never happen to me. Myth 3 – My agency is too small to worry about a violation. Many agencies ignore HIPAA issues because they believe it only pertains to [...]
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