In a recent blog post, “What is HIPAA Compliance,” we discussed where the act originated and what it consists of. With medical practices and other facilities in the industry having access to confidential information, it’s also important to understand the steps that you must take in order to become HIPAA compliant. We here at Cosmopolitan Medical Communications stay up to date on requirements and all of our services are HIPAA compliant. Here are some great tips to consider if you’re unsure about your compliance:
· If you have been classified as a covered entity, you will need to assign a compliance officer to ensure that your policies are in compliance with those required by HIPAA.
· Proper training should be provided to all employees who will be accessing patient medical records and other confidential information.
· Make sure any training you implement includes all HIPAA policies and guidelines. Consider keeping employees up to date on new laws and requirements by providing refresher courses or newsletter updates.
· To ensure the safety of all patient information, it’s crucial to not only have firewalls and anti-virus programs on your computers, but strong password protection as well. Only approved employees should have access to the computers.
· Make sure you have a password protected backup of all patient records. For even better protection, consider encrypting the data.
· When destroying any patient documents, use a shredder to ensure that every paper is properly destroyed.
You will need to take sufficient precautions to ensure your practice is HIPAA compliant. This will guarantee that you avoid any applicable violations and consequences. Most employees who commit these violations do so inadvertently, so the violations will need to be corrected after they are reported to avoid any resulting penalties.
Make sure to comment on our Facebook page and let us know how we can help your practice become HIPAA compliant!
