Starting in 2017, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) will be conducting on-site audits of hospitals.
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While the OCR is currently focusing its audits on healthcare providers and business associates, the agency indicated it will also conduct a small number of on-site audits for hospitals in 2017.
Covered entities only have 10 days to respond to a desk audit.
It is essential to prepare your practice for an audit, but even more essential that you do your required HIPAA risk assessment to protect your practice against breaches.
The OCR could show up at your practice at any time.
What is the OCR looking for when auditing?
- Updated policies and procedures;
- Implementation of policies and procedures;
- Breach notification rule controls;
- Privacy rule controls; and
- Security rule controls.
We help our clients ensure that their risk assessment is up to date and that their employees are adequately trained.
Make sure that your policies are up to date to prepare for breaches and audits. It is essential that your employees are trained on policies and know the procedures to follow.
Employees should know who the appointed HIPAA privacy and security officers are and what the protocols are in the event of a breach.
In our next blog post, we will keep you informed of related issues. To get this important information delivered directly to your mail box, Click here to Subscribe
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