When HIPAA was signed into law in 1996, modernizing and streamlining medical records access goals were part of the primary focus of the law. That same year, it became possible to send faxes over the internet. Today you’re more likely to see old-style telephone fax machines in a museum than in an office. Internet faxing (or efaxing) has become the preferred choice for most businesses. [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic forced healthcare practitioners to find new ways to deliver quality medical care to patients in remote settings. Dentistry also embraced the concept of telehealth with teledentistry solutions designed to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and create more convenience for patients and dental staff. The market has many options for telehealth services, but which one is right for you? Here are [...]
If any positives resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated chaos surrounding it, count the accelerated acceptance of telehealth services as one of them. Patients today in underserved areas or with busy schedules can now schedule an appointment with a healthcare provider from the privacy of their home at a time that best fits their needs. While some providers use business-oriented [...]
Three dental practices across the country became the latest medical professionals to learn that the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is serious about patients’ right of access under HIPAA. OCR announced three settlements that total $135,000 in civil monetary penalties for dentist HIPAA violations. Background of Dentist HIPAA Violations Acting in their role as the enforcement arm for HIPAA violations, OCR [...]
ServiceNow is one of the most widely used workflow automation platforms today. With its cloud-based architecture and ability to optimize the flow of information within an organization, it’s used for everything from tracking IT service requests to assisting medical triaging for patients. With the right design, the power of ServiceNow is incredible. But is ServiceNow HIPAA compliant? ServiceNow HIPAA Compliance: What Makes [...]
Each month, we review healthcare breaches to determine the leading cause and how the incidents could have been prevented. We do so by examining the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) online breach portal. The OCR publicly posts healthcare breaches that affected 500 or more individuals to ensure that all affected patients know their information could have been potentially compromised. Business associates had [...]
Marketing is essential to growing any business successfully, but when you work in regulated spaces such as healthcare, there are compliance considerations. Whether responding to an online patient review or trying to increase patient engagement through marketing campaigns, misunderstandings in marketing best practices can lead to patient privacy breaches. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which controls what and when [...]
As the pandemic crisis fades, the Department of Health and Human Services is eliminating many of the flexibilities in HIPAA compliant telehealth regulations it granted during the COVID-19 public health emergency. How We Got Here – HIPAA Compliant Telehealth Regulations The pandemic-fueled lockdowns put a severe strain on the nation’s health system, as those most at risk of infection struggled to receive [...]
