Now that you know what a HIPAA Risk Assessment is, let’s start with the basics.
To get compliant and avoid substantial fines, you need to know where your protected health information (PHI) is stored, accessed, transmitted and used.
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To do this, it is imperative to create a complete inventory of devices at your practice. The OCR will require this inventory if your practice is audited.
Inventories are especially important if your staff is able to access PHI on mobile devices, such as laptops, tablets and cell phones.
What should be included in your inventory?
An inventory should be a comprehensive list of all hardware used, or that could potentially be used, to access, store or transmit PHI. For each device, the HIPAA Privacy and Security Officers should keep a list of the:
- Name of the employee(s) using the device;
- Type of the device;
- Make of the device;
- Model of the device;
- Serial number of the device; and
- Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) of the device, if applicable.
All hardware needs to be inventoried.
This includes: computers, laptops, printers, copiers, fax machines, cell phones, cameras, storage devices, tablets, etc.
And remember, once isn’t enough...
Inventories must be updated regularly, and policies need to be in place that require staff members to report any and all new devices to your HIPAA Privacy and Security Officers.
If a staff member leaves your organization, there must be verification that all computer equipment, software and mobile electronic devices have been returned to avoid potential breaches and OCR fines.
We can help you create a HIPAA risk assessment and a comprehensive compliance plan. Contact us today!
Come back next week for Part 3 of this 5-part series!
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