What Are Some Common HIPAA Violations?
When discussing common HIPAA violations of HIPAA laws, it’s important to remember that every business is different.
The bottomline is that all these violations must relate in some way to the loss of HIPAA protected health information (PHI). PHI is any demographic information that can be used to identify a patient. Common examples of PHI include names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers, insurance ID numbers, health care records, and full facial photos, to name a few.
Most common examples are data breaches that can lead to HIPAA violations & fines. You might be wondering, what is the most common breach of confidentiality? Examples of incidents that can lead to data breaches and subsequent HIPAA violation are listed here:
- Stolen/lost laptop
- Stolen/lost smart phone
- Stolen/lost USB device
- Malware incident
- Ransomware attack
- Hacking
- Business associate breach
- EHR breach
- Office break-in
- Sending PHI to the wrong patient/contact
- Discussing PHI outside of the office
- Social media posts
HIPAA violations commonly fall into these few categories:
- Uses and disclosures
- Improper security safeguards
- The Minimum Necessary Rule
- Access controls
- Notice of Privacy Practices
Any of the common HIPAA violations discussed in the list above can involve PHI. When PHI is compromised, a report of the incident must be filed with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the Breach Reporting Portal. The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule also states that individuals affected by the breach must be notified in accordance with the regulatory guidelines.
Preventing Common HIPAA Violations
The most important thing to remember is that these common violations of HIPAA laws can be mitigated when you implement an effective compliance program that works for the needs of your business.
Finding a compliance solution that’s right for you isn’t an easy check-off-the-box exercise. The strength and protection of a HIPAA compliance program is how you tailor it to the needs of your individual business to avoid the risk of these common HIPAA violations.
Compliancy Group’s all-in-one HIPAA compliance app gives you the tools to confidently satisfy the law and keep your business safe. Our web-based HIPAA compliance app with guided, ongoing support allows you to learn how to address the regulation all while developing a HIPAA compliance program tailored to your business.
