Monitor HIPAA [Healthcare Compliance Tips]

Monitor HIPAA and medical record trends to increase security.

As you learned from the previous tip, understanding the patient’s concerns should always be top of mind.

This includes the area of:

Medical Records and HIPAA

Concern:

Per the report, a little over half of the individuals had concerns about privacy and security of their medical records.

Even worse, the HIPAA Journal reported a survey by Black Book, stating 87% of patients withheld information during their visits due to concern for privacy and security measures.

Solution:

With increased ransomware attacks and breaches, now is the time to reassure patients about your efforts to increase security.  The best way to prepare is to stay in close contact with your IT personnel and sign-up for the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to receive HIPAA updates and trends.  The Department of Human and Health Services (HHS) also has great information regarding HIPAA for professionals and cyber security guidance.

Your job is to show the patient that compliance is your number one priority, and you are doing everything within reason to protect their information.  This is a good time to re-train your staff about HIPAA and provide them with materials to share with the patient.  You may think a patient doesn’t notice, but they know when HIPAA is being violated.

Remember, patients can become whistleblowers too, and you don’t want them to stack up evidence to present to the government.  You want to be proactive, not reactive, when compliance is involved.

**The opinions and observations from the group/author are not a promise to exempt your practice from fines and penalties.  Research, modify and tailor the advice to fit your specialty.

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