A patient’s right to access their healthcare data so that they can make informed decisions regarding their own health and wellbeing is the component of HIPAA known as the HIPAA Right of Access. Recently, the American Medical Association (AMA) published a new HIPAA playbook for physicians and their practices to better understand this component. With...
When an emergency situation occurs, like that of the recent Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak that is said to have originated in mainland China, the healthcare industry is affected worldwide. From the individual patients all the way up to the largest facilities for patient care, it’s imperative to share knowledge and information, but it MUST be...
2019 HIPAA Breach Reporting Deadline If in 2019 you had a HIPAA breach that affected fewer than 500 individuals, you must report that to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by Saturday, February 29, 2020. Not sure if you’ve had an incident that requires reporting? Start by knowing that every breach must...
Don’t Overlook It When you consider a healthcare organization’s role in protecting patients, it’s easy to look at things from a high-level and miss out on some of the most critical protections an individual needs, expects and is owed. For example, when I think about protecting patients, my mind goes directly to the reason behind...
Fender Bender In Carroll County, Georgia, there was a vehicle accident of an unusual kind recently. It resulted in the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) slapping a $65,000 fine on West Georgia Ambulance when they were found to have multiple violations of HIPAA rules. It started in February of...
Annual Physical We’ve conducted our end of year physical on the healthcare industry, and while the humans that are cared for have a variety of health issues, there is one that is plaguing the healthcare industry as a whole: cybersecurity. This was not a good year for hospitals and healthcare businesses when it came to...
You’ve likely heard of a risk analysis. Hopefully, you’ve also performed one for your organization. Whether you’ve been helping your organization work on its HIPAA compliance for years, or you’re new to the world of HIPAA, performing a risk analysis should be a high-priority item on your business’s to-do list. Let’s start with the basics....
HIPAA compliance doesn’t care if you’re a small business or a non-profit. This isn’t said in a disrespectful manner to the laws that govern the policies, but to make you aware that your business status, or identifying structure won’t allow you to be overlooked. Hefty Fine Imposed Recently the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at...
HIPAA Requirement While it is required within HIPAA rules and regulations to complete a risk assessment regularly, the question may still be in your mind regarding WHY you have to do this. The legal ramifications are obvious. If audited, you’ll have to show a risk assessment as part of your HIPAA compliance program. And remember,...
We previously published Part 1 of this article on abuses of Patient Right to Access for medical records and how these abuses can overburden healthcare providers and put patient health information at risk. This Part 2 focuses on what healthcare organization can do about the growing problem. The following blog was written for the HIPAA...
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