Between 2009 and 2020, there were so many data breaches that more than 268 million records were compromised. That affects nearly 82% of the population in the United States.
The healthcare field has a specific set of responsibilities to protect patient records because of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act. This law is meant to protect patient privacy and hold companies in the healthcare field accountable.
These records just aren’t disclosed by hospitals and doctors’ offices. Collections agencies, research firms, insurance companies, and third-party software providers were hit with fines for HIPAA violations.
You need to do everything you can to secure records and other patient records. Keep reading to learn how to prevent HIPAA violations in your organization.
What Are HIPAA Violations?
There are a number of things that can be construed as HIPAA violations. It’s not always as simple as a hacker stealing data from your organization.
There are a few basic terms that you should know when it comes to HIPAA. The first is a covered entity. This is a healthcare organization that HIPAA applies to.
This applies to most, but not all healthcare providers. Insurance companies, healthcare providers, and clearinghouses are covered entities.
Alternative health providers aren’t held to the same standard and aren’t considered covered entities.
PHI or personal health information is anything that identifies the patient. The name, age, and addresses that are listed with health conditions and health information are PHI. Other dates like admission dates or doctor visit dates fall under this category.
A HIPAA violation occurs when a covered entity, either knowingly or unknowingly, discloses PHI. Not only do you have to prevent data from falling into the wrong hands, but you also have to provide patient records to them in a timely fashion.
HIPAA violations are reported to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The OCR investigates all claims.
In many cases, violators have a chance to correct the situation. They may have to take a settlement. If they take no action, the organizations get fined.
Preventing HIPAA Violations
You can’t afford to slip up when it comes to HIPAA violations. HIPAA security compliance is your priority.
Your first step is to conduct a HIPAA compliance audit. The audit examines your systems, recordkeeping, and employee usage.
You may discover HIPAA violations during the audit. If you do, you may have to disclose them according to the Notification Rule.
You also need to develop a corrective plan to address vulnerabilities and secure patient data. This is an important step because several organizations that failed to conduct regular audits faced fines.
Do you have business associates or vendors who handle patient data? You have to have a HIPAA-compliant agreement with those associates.
One of the easiest things to do is to use strict data encryption protocols across your network. You also have to secure all devices on the network.
The next step is to set up authorization levels for access to patient records. Your employees and business associates don’t need to access everything.
Get Help From Employees
Employees are just as susceptible to causing major data breaches and they probably don’t know it. You have to help them become aware of the risks that they face when protecting patient privacy.
For example, they could leave a device on a table in a public place. If that device gets lost or stolen, someone could have access to patient records.
It’s a similar situation when using public WiFi. Those connections aren’t secure, which means that it’s much easier for hackers to access private data on an open connection.
Employees can assist with HIPAA security by protecting their passwords. They should always use strong passwords and update them every 90-120 days.
HIPAA doesn’t just apply to all things digital. There is a lot of PHI on paper floating around the office, too. You just need to make sure that employees shred and properly dispose of PHI.
Have a Social Media Policy
One of your staff members might want to share a photo of them and their favorite patient at your clinic. As soon as that post goes out to the public, that is a HIPAA violation.
It seems like a warm and friendly thing to do, but it gets your organization in big trouble. Your organization needs to have a written policy about social media usage for all employees.
Put an Action Plan in Place
It’s possible that you’ll have the best preventative plan in place. That doesn’t always stop a data breach. Another aspect of HIPAA is the Notification Rule.
A covered entity has to notify the affected individuals. If the breach compromised 500 or more records, you have to notify the local media and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
You need to have a plan of action in place to comply with the Notification Rule. It’s also important to document each step as you go.
You have to prove that you complied with the Notification Rule, so the more documentation you have, the better.
Navigating Data Privacy in the Healthcare Field
It’s entirely possible that you will never experience a data breach in the healthcare field. There are hundreds of potential risks, from employee errors to hackers eager to make money.
You need to be aware of the data privacy laws in the healthcare field. It’s your responsibility to secure records and comply with HIPAA. Any failures can turn into a hefty fine for your organization.
Hopefully, you learned how to prevent data breaches and keep patient records secure. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out the other legal articles on the blog today!
