What is a HIPAA Violations? The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which was enacted in 1996, consists of five sections that set out data privacy and security provisions meant to safeguard protected health information (PHI). Here are Three HIPPA violation Rule who can avoid your company
HIPAA Violations- PHI is one of the most sensitive pieces of information that businesses in various industries manage. And so, if medical or corporate entities fail to comply with HIPAA’s regulations for protecting PHI, they’ll face both civil and criminal consequences.
Similarly HIPAA Violations, a company should take note of various factors when complying with HIPAA requirements. First, a company must know whether it has privacy and security policies and procedures set in place.
Second HIPAA Violations, it should know if its HIPAA training is provided to new employees and if it’s designed to update everyone as needed. Third, is if it reviews its policies and processes regularly.
Fourth HIPAA Violations is if there’s a culture of privacy in its staff and vendors. Fifth is if it’s aware of the gaps in its data security and if there’s a procedure to resolve them in HIPAA Violation case they exist. And last is if the company needs help from a HIPAA consulting services team to avoid non-compliance effectively.
Still HIPAA Violations, there are lots of companies that violate the HIPAA rule. Therefore, it’s high time for your healthcare or business company to be aware of some of the top HIPAA violations that it might make.
HIPAA Violations, In order to be safer in the future in terms of complying with the HIPAA Violations rule, you must also know how to avoid these infractions.
Top 3 HIPAA Violations:
Inadequate Employee Training
HIPAA Violations- Employee training is not just advice, it’s a requirement under HIPAA law. Therefore, employees must be trained in meeting HIPAA requirements and protection policies.
HIPAA Violations- This is the same as conducting proper training for individual practice of policies and procedures in handling medical information.
Examples of some points a company should tackle during training include:
- Correct handling of passwords and login credentials
- Proper disposal of PHI
- Non-disclosure of PHI on social media
- Appropriate turnover of PHI when changing professions
Likewise HIPAA Violations, a company must not conclude that their staff has secured all the information given during training. Therefore, considerable vigilance concerning the company’s regular employee work and HIPAA compliance is needed.
HIPAA Violations- Providing pop quizzes at staff meetings to assess employees’ knowledge of HIPAA adherence is one approach to demonstrate this vigilance.
Failure To Secure Devices
HIPAA Violations- You should hide in a secure space all the devices that contain protected health information (PHI). Examples of these devices are tablets, laptops, desktops, and smartphones. Take note that you should keep these devices encrypted and password-protected to avoid security breaches.
HIPAA Violations- As working arrangements become more flexible, the personal or company-issued devices they use when doing remote work may not be as secure as they should be. And so, it can lead to these devices being lost or stolen or becoming susceptible to a breach.
In order to secure the issued devices properly, it’s vital to take the necessary steps below:
- One should avoid crowded places when doing remote work, such as when performing a telehealth service. This is to prevent other individuals from looking into the screen, especially if the remote staff is accessing or gaining a patient’s PHI.
- Healthcare or business staff shouldn’t be allowed to leave their devices unattended.
- Sending PHI through mobile phones should be prohibited. Utilizing an encrypted program when sending PHI via SMS will keep it safe.
- To avoid significant fines, businesses should ensure that the devices given to their employees are safe.
Lack Of Data Security
Hacking is a real threat to patients’ PHI. According to “The Wall of Shame,” which is a database for breaches kept by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), hacking constitutes about 23% of all the HIPAA breaches that occurred.
Medical or business enterprises must secure their data from hackers at all times. This is because there are people who maliciously intend to use another person’s medical records for nefarious purposes.
There are a few easy methods that you can follow to make your system less susceptible to hacking:
- Turn on software firewalls in your operating system.
- Routinely update your software.
- Update your passwords.
- Install malware-scanning software.
Conclusion:
HIPAA is a rule that was put into action in 1996 with the purpose of safeguarding protected health information. Preserving PHI is crucial as it holds valuable types of information that different companies manage.
Likewise, failure to comply with HIPAA rules can result in severe penalties, such as fines. Therefore, it’s essential for companies to follow health privacy laws and understand how to safeguard PHI.
One way to comply appropriately is to know the top HIPAA violations you need to avoid. Having this knowledge will help companies stay in line with the law and keep their reputation in a favorable position in the long run.
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