Healthcare organizations are continuously struggling with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance for three seemingly simple reasons: organization, utilization of security measures, and auditing efforts. While these are all simple aspects of handling and tracking healthcare data, many office and practice managers are still seeking solutions to help streamline data security and training efforts and all of their compliance monitoring and reporting.
With the upward trend in healthcare data breaches, revolutionizing the way HIPAA compliance is tracked and monitored is becoming a top priority for compliance officers. Instead of using more manual tracking methods, such as spreadsheets and paper records, opting for compliance software has proved safer, more reliable, and more efficient.
Keep reading to find out why using spreadsheets for HIPAA compliance simply won’t continue to cut it as healthcare continues to advance.
Manual Compliance Tracking Is Being Phased Out
Manual compliance tracking is outdated. Most compliance officers want digital alternatives instead of using a manual HIPAA compliant spreadsheet. This is because of the limitations of manual compliance. Using a spreadsheet to track and manage HIPAA compliance is inherently ineffective, and businesses are more prone to:
- General error
- Documentation inconsistencies
- Ineffective compliance management
Overall, spreadsheets aren’t designed for streamlined collaboration among compliance teams, and the visibility of your data will be limited. Instead, compliance officers are seeking solutions that host the tools they need within one suite of features.
Compliance Software and Its Advantages
Patient demands for better privacy and accountability for their healthcare data are increasing, considering the increase in security concerns. As of 2024, there have already been 116 ‘reported’ data breaches that directly affected healthcare systems, and streamlining compliance tracking can help avoid this and other risks.
More compliance officers are migrating their efforts toward compliance software to make compliance efforts simpler to deploy and follow. Healthcare organizations are ditching spreadsheets to decrease the number of data breaches that have already started to pile up at the start of the year and for several other reasons.
Cost Reduction
Automation offers many savings. By simply automating certain processes within your business, experts predict that organizations can cut around 30% of expenses from your financial burden.
Simpler Auditing
Compliance software helps to make compliance auditing more efficient by keeping your operations within industry standards and clearly outlining regulatory requirements. This simplifies documentation tracking and makes it easier to stay up-to-date with the maintenance of your compliance program.
Access to Compliance Visibility
Not only does the right compliance software give you access to helpful dashboards in real-time, but you will also have access to certain features like HIPAA compliant spreadsheet solutions and HIPAA security rule spreadsheet options. Creating visual elements for your compliance tracking not only reduces financial waste but also increases compliance consistency.
How Compliance Officers Can Streamline Their HIPAA Training Programs with a Software-Based Solution
Compliance software can provide compliance officers with a centralized platform for managing all aspects of their HIPAA training programs. From scheduling training sessions to tracking employee participation and documenting completion, compliance officers and office managers will have access to simpler ways to oversee the entire training process, end to end, from a single dashboard. This type of centralized approach helps to ensure consistency in training delivery and documentation processes, simplifies compliance efforts, and reduces administrative burden.
Additionally, companies can look forward to real-time data, customized training, and automated training workflows.
Enhancing HIPAA Compliance with the Right Technology
Gaining access to a suite of automated solutions for your compliance tracking will ensure that your business operations remain in good regulatory standing. With centralized control for documentation, efficient workflows, HIPAA audit protocol spreadsheet solutions, and real-time reporting, you are advancing your business in terms of overall compliance efficiency and both internal and external trust.
To get started with streamlining your compliance tracking and monitoring and cutting down on expenses, start working with Compliancy Group today.
