Mounds of paper and documents are the main components of medical billing and medical records. To control and organize the paper trails, digitalizing medical documents streamlines patient care and processes. Imaging medical records can also facilitate the management and adherence to HIPAA. Compliance with HIPAA - often keeps doctors, imaging and healthcare professionals up at night. Yet, since the healthcare profession requires an intense study and concentration, it’s no wonder that there is not a lot of mindshare devoted to learning the minutiae inside a dense rulebook filled with a complex set of regulations.
All healthcare professionals including imaging, should have a solid knowledge of HIPAA requirements. It’s especially important to the practices without the means to hire an administrative staff – they need to understand the regulatory framework. This is particularly important when it comes to transmitting sensitive information via email.
So in an effort to help you avoid HIPAA compliance and security violations, here are four tips:
1. Are you ready for a HIPAA audit? Many healthcare organizations are concerned about a governing body initiating an audit, however there are many ways that practices can come under scrutiny for email-related HIPAA compliance violations. For example, an audit can originate from a patient reporting an unencrypted email. In the worst case, an email server might be hacked, revealing unencrypted patient information.
Those who fail to adhere to HIPAA could face significant fines, in some cases ranging into the millions of dollars, and face jail time. Because violators also are required to report their non-compliance to those affected, as well as the media, they could also suffer reputation damage.
2. Do you know if your email service is HIPAA compliant? Email compliance requirements do not end in the doctor’s office – they extend to the practice’s technology providers as well. Healthcare organizations must ensure that the partner also complies with HIPAA standards. The provider must be diligent in the same risk analysis, administrative, physical and technical safeguards.
Many medical professionals and practices use consumer-grade email services, such as Gmail or AOL for their businesses. While using these email services don’t necessarily mean the practice is out of compliance, they are designed to be cheap, easy-to-use platforms that serve a massive base of casual users – not medical professionals. Thus they often provide inadequate security and privacy measures to safeguard confidential and sensitive data.
