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5 Most Common Mistakes in medical services that are in accordance with HIPAA Compliance.

5 Most Common Mistakes in medical services that are in accordance with HIPAA Compliance.

The benchmark for protecting sensitive patient data is set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). To achieve HIPAA Compliance, organizations that manage protected health information (PHI) should put in place and adhere to tangible, digital, and administrative security measures. HIPAA compliance is required of all covered entities (those who provide healthcare treatment, payment, and operations) and business partners (those who have access to patient information and assist with those activities). Private contractors and any additional associated business associates must likewise comply, as must other entities.

If it seems hard for you to investigate HIPAA non-compliance in your facility, it will be suitable for you to look for a consulting firm specialized in cyber-security and can suggest compliance solutions for your firm.

Why is HIPAA compliance needed?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notes that HIPAA compliance is more crucial than ever as healthcare providers and other organizations that deal with PHI transition to computerized operations, including electronic health records (EHR), computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems, and other medical systems. Similarly, health insurance offers access to applications for care management and self-service. All of these technological techniques enhance productivity and accessibility, but they also significantly raise security threats for healthcare data.

Because it safeguards patient privacy and makes sure those with pre-existing diseases are covered, HIPAA is crucial. 

It guarantees information security, requiring healthcare providers to safeguard documents and restrict access to only authorized, trained employees and trusted third parties. 

HIPAA is needed because

  • Patients have the right under HIPAA to obtain duplicates of their health records and ask for changes if any information is incorrect.
  • According to U.S. law, protected information should not be disclosed without the patient’s permission.
  • The power to choose who can advocate on your account is among the most crucial provisions of HIPAA. This applies even if someone is assisting you with your insurance or financial obligations.

Top 5 Mistakes noncompliant with HIPAA 

The concern for healthcare organizations of all sizes and shapes is still relevant today: How can one be certain that their business is fully compliant with HIPAA regulations during Medical Billing? The HIPAA penalties for infractions are severe, and even seemingly minor errors or oversights can cost a lot of money if found out. 

Hence, it is important to know beforehand what mistakes are commonly made by healthcare firms that are not compliant with HIPAA. 

Failure toward encryption strategies

Patient privacy violations are frequently caused by unencrypted computers that are stolen from automobiles and cellular devices that are misplaced before encryption. Mobile device encryption will help you avoid a lot of stress and expense should they disappear.

The ease with which a stolen or lost device can lead to theft or unauthorized access to PHI is one of the most frequent HIPAA infractions. Fines of more than $1 million for each year the infringement is permitted to continue depending upon the violation category. If there is illegal access to patient data on any device—laptop, tablet, or phone—that stores patient data or is connected to it, there is a concern.

In and out of the workplace, electronic devices like tablets and cell phones are an integral part of the daily life of behavioral health professionals. Despite the confidential material they might hold for their business purposes, it can be easy to be casual with them.  Particularly in a comfortable setting like an office, individuals tend to abandon cell phones, leaving them unsupervised, or not password-protecting them. However, should the incorrect person be in control of the device and the PHI, such recklessness might have serious repercussions for the practice.

Not having HIPAA insurance

It can be very expensive to not have insurance for HIPAA investigations. In one case, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) levied a civil monetary penalty of almost $3.5 million on a company for violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which mandates insurance to pay any HIPAA investigations. One needs to identify and treat any HIPAA-related gaps and fully comprehend the scope of health insurance one presently has.

If you fail to provide coverage for a HIPAA non-conformance or patient accusations filed against you to the Department of Civil Rights (a division of HHS), you may face severe fines or possibly lose your employment. Make that your insurance coverage at least covers investigations and replies to HIPAA-related claims and complaints made by your patients or other members. You will be grateful to have the coverage should the need ever arise; that also comes with lower premiums for coverage.

Failure to conduct Organizational Risk Management 

The goal of this research is to identify any systemic flaws that might compromise the availability, confidentiality, and integrity of PHI. Companies that fail to conduct this risk analysis give hackers a chance to access their networks and steal patient information.

Further violations result from the failure to handle potential risks and the absence of a risk assessment process. A risk management method must then be used to address the risks that the study uncovered. Prioritizing threats and vulnerabilities will help them get the attention they need.

When conducting an inquiry, the OCR initially requests a risk assessment. Risk evaluations must be done regularly by the law.

You should concur with them since the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which is in charge of overseeing HIPAA compliance at the federal level, thinks this is a vital document that should be kept in place. For activities without a comprehensive risk evaluation in place, heavy fines and penalties have been imposed.

Dismissal of state privacy laws

Although most state laws are superseded by HIPAA since it is a federal statute, there are some exemptions to be cognizant of. These exclusions are typically more stringent, therefore if a state legislation is more stringent than a federal statute, the state law takes precedence. For instance, if a state law exists to prevent fraud involving health records, that law may take precedence over HIPAA if the latter’s requirements are not as extensive or limited as the state statute.

Due to this, state compliance is one of the HIPAA mistakes that enterprises do most frequently. Providers frequently let their standards slip and fail to identify state laws that take precedence over federal laws even while they are in conformity with HIPAA on the federal level, which leads to punitive damages from the local state. Having stated that, a state statute cannot in any way conflict with HIPAA. In the event of a direct disagreement, HIPAA law will prevail.

Non-compliant Business Associations and Contracts 

Partnership contracts with third parties who have an approach to Personal Health Information (PHI) can lead to several HIPAA violations. With the growth of telehealth, the typical health organization now interacts with a wide range of vendors, including numerous software solutions that facilitate overseas assignments and telework. 

A proper business associate agreement ought to be signed by covered entities and business associates before sharing PHI with third parties acting on their behalf.

In Conclusion:

In the bottom line, it can be said that it is crucial for hospice and healthcare practices to comply with HIPAA regulations for the good of their clients as well as their business operations.

Organizations should evaluate and, if required, amend their present policies to ensure that words are properly defined and those breach assessments are made. Make sure the required information is included in the sample notification letters, and make sure the timely delivery of breach notifications to all relevant parties. The best way to deal with non-compliance is to outsource the problem to a service provider who can help with the issue and make it simple.

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