HIPAA Annual Required Training and its Purpose

So, you’re wondering if HIPAA training is required annually for your business? It sure is! HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a federal law that outlines regulations for the protection of patients' health information. As a healthcare professional, it is essential that you are well-versed in HIPAA regulations and take the necessary steps to ensure compliance. One of [...]

2023-03-17T15:40:20-04:00March 13th, 2023|

Why You Need a HIPAA Third Party Risk Assessment

There’s a ton of information available about HIPAA risk assessments designed to serve as guides for a DIY process. But, most of the steps they ask you to take are not self-explanatory, and many of the terms used require a robust security vocabulary. So, how can the average person complete a security risk assessment and ensure they’ve done so correctly? Use a HIPAA third party risk [...]

2023-03-10T14:36:20-05:00March 9th, 2023|

Is it a HIPAA Violation to Email Medical Records?

Your patient asked you to email them a copy of their medical records, but are you allowed to do this? Is it a HIPAA violation to email medical records? Well, that really depends on the circumstances. Are You Using a HIPAA Compliant Email Provider? You may not have considered this, but the provider you use to send patient emails matters. Not all [...]

2023-02-21T15:54:47-05:00February 21st, 2023|

Is Faxage HIPAA Compliant?

Faxing documents may seem as retro as parachute pants and gasoline that costs less than a dollar per gallon, but it is still one of the methods allowed for transmitting patient medical data. Faxage is one of the companies that offer the service and claims to be HIPAA compliant. We decided to put them to the test. What Makes a Software Tool [...]

2023-02-10T15:18:33-05:00February 8th, 2023|

Is Using a HIPAA Compliance Binder Effective?

In the past, using a HIPAA compliance binder was a popular way to address compliance requirements, but it’s no longer considered best practice. There are several reasons why that’s the case, including a tendency to rely on outdated guidance. Since a HIPAA Compliance Binder is not an effective way to meet your requirements, what is effective? A HIPAA booklet? What about a [...]

2023-02-10T15:18:34-05:00February 6th, 2023|

What is HIPAA Compliant Secure Text Messaging?

Many patients want their healthcare providers to send them texts allowing them to access their ePHI. Does HIPAA permit this, even if the text is not secure? Yes. A patient asking for a text with this information is making the request under the HIPAA privacy rule right of access provision.  “Your way, right away” carries the day here, apologies to Burger King. [...]

2023-01-13T13:52:07-05:00January 9th, 2023|

The Importance of HIPAA in Protecting Your Business

When the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was signed into law in 1996, it ushered in a series of changes to how healthcare operates. The federal law established baseline standards for protecting the health records of patients, and it also gave patients greater rights to access their health records. The law also added a level of confusion to a complex marketplace. [...]

2022-12-23T09:30:30-05:00December 28th, 2022|

What to Look for in HIPAA Compliant Fax

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. [...]

2022-09-29T15:29:05-04:00September 28th, 2022|

Finding a HIPAA Compliant Chatbot

Are you looking for a chatbot to help with patient communications? Using a chatbot can be an effective way to answer patient questions without having to use precious human resources. With staffing issues in healthcare, devoting an employee to run your chats can be a drain on your business. When choosing which tool is right for your business, you must ensure that the tool is HIPAA [...]

2022-08-22T13:16:40-04:00August 15th, 2022|

Cyber Risks in Healthcare: How to Explain Them to Your Healthcare Clients

You know what the risks are, but how do you explain them to your healthcare clients in a way that they’ll understand? Most people are not very tech-savvy, and they definitely don’t know the lingo. That makes your job part translator, part advisor, and part evangelist. There’s an art to communicating cyber risks in healthcare to your clients. You don’t want to [...]

2022-07-29T09:17:59-04:00July 27th, 2022|