Guest Post: Being HIPAA Compliant in a Changing World of Health Care

HIPAA One provides next-generation privacy & security software that is simple, automated, and affordable for healthcare, payers and business associates. A valued partner of MEDENT’s, HIPAA One provided this article to spread the word on HIPAA compliance in an ever-changing world.

A Changing World of Health Care

The health care and HIPAA landscape have changed dramatically since the beginning of 2020. Reliance on telehealth and telecommuting has put practices at further risk for security breaches. Cyber Threats (Ransomware, Email Phishing, etc.) are increasing and becoming more successful. These are just a few of the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the health care world, and amendments to HIPAA Laws are a possibility, especially to help address security issues that arise following these unprecedented times.

Regardless of the size of your practice or facility, your organization will benefit from HIPAA Compliance. HIPAA Compliance helps address security issues before they happen. Multi-factor authentication, encryption, and telework preparation are all security measures that will help your organization prevent breaches. The future of health care is moving in a technological direction, and these security safeguards are essential; perhaps now more than ever.

Preparing for an Audit

A security risk analysis will help determine where your organization is most vulnerable and will prepare you to pass a HIPAA audit. State-of-the-art software and Professional Auditors are available to you to ensure you achieve and maintain HIPAA compliance. This process has been streamlined to make things easy for you. You could do it on your own, or you could utilize software and auditors to do it for you! Preparing for your audit doesn’t need to be a stressful and laborious experience.

Benefits Beyond Passing your Audit

While the ultimate goal of HIPAA compliance is to prepare to complete the yearly audit, additional benefits of being committed to HIPAA compliance include:

    • Creating a Culture of Compliance where appropriate handling of PHI and ePHI is a priority.
    • Increasing organizational reputation that will build trust and patient loyalty.
    • Improved training within the organization, which will allow employees to understand what is expected of them. This creates happier employees and a happier organization overall.
    • Increased data and ePHI security, preventing breaches and HIPAA enforcement.
    • Avoiding large fees and other costly penalties.

All of these benefits and more lead to increased efficiency and profitability. HIPAA compliance is more crucial than ever for the security of your organization, so don’t wait for the deadline! If you are unsure where to begin when it comes to HIPAA compliance, talk to one of HIPAA One’s auditors today.