As promised by the Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”), more on-site HIPAA audits are occurring this year.
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In December of 2016, the OCR stated that it would increase on-site HIPAA audits, and it has followed through on this promise.
Ransomware and hacking has not slowed down over the years. The OCR is attempting to force healthcare providers to comply with HIPAA to improve their protections of patient information.
Many healthcare organizations lack risk assessments, inventories, and basic security protections.
In the past month, the OCR has doled out hefty fines for offenses such as failure to have a business associate agreement in place, disclosure of protected health information, and lack of security management process.
It is clear that rigid enforcement of HIPAA will continue moving forward.
We help our clients prepare for a potential audit by updating their policies and procedures, performing an internal audit, making sure their HIPAA risk assessment is up to date, and training employees on breach readiness.
If you want to avoid hefty fines at your healthcare organization, make sure that you take appropriate measures to protect your practice now.
Start by:
- Reviewing your business associate agreements. Make sure they are current and that you have updated agreements with all vendors and subcontractors.
- Updating your inventory of devices with all devices used by any staff member to access PHI.
- Making sure your policies and procedures are current and followed by all office staff.
- Training your employees regularly on HIPAA, on your office’s policies and procedures, and on breach readiness.
Don’t delay in taking measures to protect your practices from audits and from breaches.
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.
Do you need help staying current and compliant with the latest laws, rules and regulations? We can help. To contact us about your new government rules and regulations, your practice’s risk assessment, or about your other legal needs: CLICK HERE.
P.S. If you or your patients are interested in consumer healthcare issues, check out myhealthspin.com.
