You’ve coded up this amazing piece of software that is perfect for the healthcare market. The fact that the industry’s footprint is more than $3.8 billion in the United States alone has got you seeing dollar signs. The only problem is that your potential customers will only consider HIPAA compliant software, and you aren’t sure where or how to get started in making your product [...]
Law firms, depending on the nature of the services they provide to covered entities, may fall under the definition of “business associates.” Law firms that qualify as business associates (BAs) must be HIPAA compliant. Tips for developing a HIPAA compliance checklist for law firms are discussed below. What is a HIPAA Compliance Checklist for Law Firms: When is a Law Firm a BA? Business associates perform functions or [...]
Under HIPAA, covered entities are defined as individuals or entities that transmit protected health information for certain transactions. These transactions generally include include transmission of healthcare claims, payment and remittance advice, healthcare status, coordination of benefits, enrollment and disenrollment, eligibility checks, healthcare electronic fund transfers, and referral certification and authorization. Covered entities are defined in the HIPAA rules as (1) health plans, (2) healthcare clearinghouses, [...]
In light of recent large-scale breaches in healthcare, it is imperative that covered entities (CEs) understand the importance of business associate security. Over the course of seven years, data breaches in healthcare have increased by 70%. The recent breach of the American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA) affected 20 million patients. The AMCA breach was a result of hackers gaining access to the collection agency’s web [...]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released new HIPAA guidelines for business associate requirements in May 2019. These guidelines reinforce a business associate’s liability under HIPAA law. The HHS has identified 10 areas in which business associates (BAs) are held accountable. Failure to provide the Secretary with records and compliance reports; cooperate with complaint investigations and compliance reviews; [...]
More Fines Ahead for HIPAA Business Associates As HIPAA business associates (BAs), managed service providers (MSPs) doing work in the healthcare space are at risk of increased enforcement efforts from the federal government. In 2016 alone, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued almost $24 million in fines. Among those fines was the first ever settlement reached with a HIPAA business associate. [...]
NueMD (Atlanta, GA), a cloud-based medical billing service, administered a HIPAA Compliance Survey in 2014. In 2016, they issued a follow-up survey to measure the change in HIPAA compliance and awareness over time. The 2016 NueMD survey received 927 total responses, 86% from medical practices and 6% from billing companies. Of these respondents, 462 reported involvement with patient care, while 465 reported involvement with administrative duties. The survey [...]
Accountants working in the healthcare industry need a HIPAA compliance solution that works for their company and for their clients’ businesses. Healthcare accountants are considered business associates (BAs) under HIPAA law. As such HIPAA for accountants in healthcare requires the same level of compliance as any other business associate. A business associate is any entity hired by a covered entity (CE) to perform a service. The Department of Health [...]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it reached a $750,000 HIPAA settlement with Raleigh Orthopedic Clinic, P.A. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based provider group practice runs several clinics and an orthopedic surgery center. The HIPAA settlement was reached after the protected health information (PHI) of 17,300 patients was unlawfully transmitted to a Business Associate (BA) without having executed a proper Business [...]
Business Associates: How to differentiate your organization using HIPAA compliance from Compliancy Group
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