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HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA & HITECH Requirements

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HIPAA Compliance For Medical Offices & Covered Entities

Are you a PPO, HMO, EPO, POS or private practice specialist, who must follow state and federal laws to stay in compliance with HIPAA?

Being in compliance with the latest HIPAA & HITECH requirements means:

If you are a healthcare provider who performs functions such as, create, maintain, and transmit protected health information (PHI) electronically you must abide by the privacy standards.

Providers who also fall in the category of ‘covered entities’ and/or their ‘business associates’, whether it is through a contract or other legally required responsibility, must have procedures in place for the electronic transfer of personally identifiable information (PII) and PHI.

Do you have procedures in place to protect the electronic transfer of information to meet privacy standards?

If you do, are they enough?

If not, you'll want to read on...

Most practitioners, to include their staff, don't have the time to sort through packets of information, let alone know what privacy standards are. This leaves a lot of room for missed information, particularly requirements that are essential to protecting the practice itself and its' clients. There are certain procedures that must be in place, which include the protection of specific IT equipment used when transferring PII and PHI.

Getting ready for an audit requires months worth of preparation and a lot of frustration, because the rules are not clear or exact on what is needed. Generally the staff is tasked with finding pertinent information on HIPAA and usually search for guidelines, or a checklist, or maybe even law sites to find what can be made into a policy for their practice. However, this type of search is usually inefficient and superficial at best.

After a few week's effort in searching and creating documentation to show the practice has at least tried to stay in compliance, staff members start to feel overwhelmed after finding and reading about compliance requirements but not know how to apply any of that information. This leaves most owners confused and wondering what the next step is to meet those requirements.

We're happy to say that we can help ease that frustration by guiding any type of practice who shares PII or PHI by offering assessments that are geared for passing audits. These assessments tackle those questions on what laws currently impact your operations, workforce and their access to information, and protection needed for servers and computers, among other concerns.

And since we are an IT company and know what to do to protect the life and security of IT equipment, it is an ideal relationship to establish because most PII and PHI is stored and transmitted electronically.

Question is...do you want to have a practice that offers quality of service while taking care of patients and have the right procedures in place to protect their PII and any PHI?

How will you know what is applicable to your office...not every office is a doctor's office? And what's needed in your state?

47 States have data breach laws that protect some of the essentials needed during the intake and billing process in almost every type of practice
This includes: driver's license, social security numbers, banking and credit card information
A network also has to be secure enough to meet the standards both physically and virtually
And if that's not enough, there are two entities that can increase the requirements

The State Attorney General enforces HIPAA

State agencies enforce HIPAA

And more...see how our reports cover what's needed

We know what is enforceable, and we'll make this your first step in bringing your office into compliance

You'll get specialized reports that are automated so that you don't have to manually create evidence of compliance or write memo's to cite laws

Each report has years of knowledge built in, because of leading experts' contribution this isn't just preparation of simple documentation

You'll also get a run down of certain procedures to make sure you are not left alone trying to understand what rules are applicable and how to apply those procedures

This covers the two major act's that govern protected information:

Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Privacy Rule - protects all info
Security Rule - protects data

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act

Data Breach Rule - enforces reporting
Omnibus Final Rule - updates the previous rules

We know that most providers are in business to help people feel and get better, and we also know it's a second job to stay in compliance.

In the past providers have tried to tackle all of the responsibilities that come with staying up date with new rules, but were unsuccessful because they missed some of the more recent changes due to time constraints and lack of resources.

However, with the implementation of the results from the detailed reports plus the procedures we are recommending, you will have a practical winning formula.

These reports are a compilation of work that are done in a one time assessment of which incorporate feedback from leading HIPAA authorities
Potential for ongoing compliance service, for those who have busy schedules and very little time to read about rules and create practical SOP's as they continue to grow their practice
Current security risks are addressed, and can prove compliance over a period of time

Even if you were in compliance at some point, did you know that certain items have been recently added to audits?

New Permanent Audit Program being conducted by those two entities features the following:

New audit protocol - with 176 items

Covers - Privacy, Security, Breach Rules

Desk audits and site visits

Now includes 'Business Associates'

Audits can be planned, but are mostly unexpected.

If you get a short notice, would you or your team know how to prepare? Would you even have the time?

Are you prepared?

If you're scrambling at the last minute, dont! Our HIPAA Assessment will provide you with the documentation and reports that are critical to passing audits and to stay in compliance.

HIPAA Assessment Overview

This is what you will get:

Consultation to help build a unique compliance program that fits your office

Step by step process to address IT risks and suggestions on maximizing what you already have

Identify users and their levels of access to set rules on what they can access

Summary of risks found in your network

Evidence of HIPAA policy compliance (in a report)

Easier navigation process for auditors and your practice to meet requirements

Be a part of the small percentage of practices that have data protection and be ready for an audit in a short period of time

Peace of mind! Yes, that's right...it matters that your practice can continue to offer the best without the worry

Questions?

1. So, is this worth your time – to start now and implement procedures that teach you and your staff how to handle patient information correctly?

A: Only you can determine that. But if you already know what the best practices are and the risks involved when the rules aren't followed, wouldn't you already have something in place...

2. Will this work for my office?

A: Yes. The real benefit to you is that you don't have to spend years to learn about IT and security, our team provides that and ensures your network meets current requirements. You also don't need to be a doctors office to benefit from this.

4. Still have more questions?

A: Give us a call, fill out the form below, or email us and we'll answer whatever questions you have. We can help steer you in the right direction, even if you're just starting out.

3. I'm still not sure I really need this

A: If you're still wondering about how much time or money you will spend on this, because that's the concern behind this question, then you'll have to ask yourself how much time and money will you spend on researching and gathering information over months or years, when it could be handled in weeks.

You see, if you don't settle something right away it lingers and eventually it worries you until you become frustrated. And it's unnecessary!

Gathering information is the first step to meet any type of requirement, so don't fall behind.

If you believe you need help with this portion of your business and are ready to take the necessary steps for compliance, fill out the form below.

With a consultation we'll give you an overview of our services that are required of healthcare and covered entity providers.