How to Ensure HIPAA Compliance
How can you ensure HIPAA compliance? Everyone in the healthcare industry understands the importance of complying with all the regulations associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Small and mid-sized organizations have unique challenges as they wrestle with the complexities of the law. Because their staff members may hold other roles within the organization and be responsible for HIPAA, they may wonder how to ensure HIPAA compliance.
How to Ensure HIPAA Compliance: Defining the Goal
One of the most confusing things about HIPAA regulations is that the law covers an almost impossibly broad range of businesses.
A one-person medical practice, a multi-billion dollar insurance company, an IT managed service provider, and even a document shredding service may all have HIPAA responsibilities. If they create, access, use, process, transmit, or destroy protected health information (PHI) in physical or electronic (ePHI) formats, they must comply with HIPAA.
HIPAA regulators attempted to make things more straightforward a few years ago when they released a list outlining Seven Foundational Elements of HIPAA Compliance.
- Implementing written policies, procedures, and standards of conduct.
- Designating a compliance officer and compliance committee.
- Conducting effective training and education.
- Developing effective lines of communication.
- Conducting internal monitoring and auditing.
- Enforcing standards through well-publicized disciplinary guidelines.
- Responding promptly to detected offenses and undertaking corrective action.
Achieving those seven elements is very different for each organization listed above. Because no two organizations are the same, there will likely be unique challenges for similar practices within the same specialty.
How to Ensure HIPAA Compliance: Battling “What Ifs”
If you are new to HIPAA compliance or inheriting an existing compliance strategy, it is reasonable to wonder about the consequences of not fully complying with the law.
Violations of the law can carry significant civil and criminal penalties for the business and the individuals responsible for compliance. That’s something that could weigh heavily upon your mind. Is there a way you can be confident that you are fully compliant?
How to Ensure HIPAA Compliance: Finding a Trusted Partner
Compliancy Group can give you the confidence you need to be sure you are HIPAA compliant. Our automated compliance solution, “The Guard™,” is a web-based application that leads you step-by-step through the process.
Users of The Guard achieve compliance up to 86 percent faster than those who go it alone. In addition, you will have a dedicated Compliance Coach™ to walk you through The Guard and point you toward finding the answers you need within our comprehensive knowledge base.
The Guard leads you through completing your annual security risk assessment, conducting the necessary audits, and building a complete list of tasks to achieve HIPAA compliance.
Your Compliance Coach will help you stay on track as you work through the process. When you have completed all the tasks, our team of compliance specialists review your work. When your efforts satisfy the good faith standard required by law, the specialists issue your Seal of Compliance™ to demonstrate your achievements.
Now you no longer have to worry about whether you are compliant. You can display the seal on your website, in your office, and in your email signature to let others know a trusted third party has verified your HIPAA compliance.
