Checklist to Avoid HIPAA Violations

A $3.5 million compensation was paid by Fresenius Medical Care in February 2018 as a result of illegal management of protected health information (PHI). Their errors included unauthorised disclosures, a lack of regulations and data encryption, and inadequate security measures. These mistakes were a serious HIPAA violation.

A health organisation might lose millions of dollars if HIPAA privacy and security rules are broken. Below is the checklist to avoid HIPAA Violations.

1. Physical safeguards

According to the Security Rule, physical security measures apply to both the individuals who have access to PHI as well as the technology used for its transmission and storage. The term “physical safeguard” refers to everything that comes into contact with data centres, gadgets, and employees.

Organizations must adhere to physical security measures in order to:

Set up access restrictions for the facility: To restrict physical access to storage hardware facilities, establish rules and limitations. Employees and contractors should be included in the guidelines, which should also limit unlawful access.

Keep track of paperwork and hardware inventories: Healthcare facilities should maintain an exhaustive inventory of all hardware. A duplicate of the ePHI should be made beforehand and a record of all unit moves should be kept.

Put in place rules for workstations: Any workstation with access to ePHI should be protected by a set of explicit security policies. These regulations must cover each workstation’s proper operation, safety, and limitations.

Put in place rules for mobile devices: Regarding the mobile devices of employees who depart the company, there needs to be a defined policy. Any ePHI that was accessed by a user from their device needs to be deleted, and access needs to be disabled.

2. Technical safeguards

The technology used to store, access, and transmit ePHI is subject to technical safeguards. Firewalls are essential for defending servers from breaches and invasions.

Data encryption is also essential. Every time electronic data leaves the internal systems of your company, it must be encrypted. This means that in the event of a breach, any transmission or storage of patient data outside of your servers must be impossible for a third party to decipher.

Avoid HIPAA Violations

Administrative safeguards focus on the broad frameworks that guarantee compliance within a company. To monitor the safety of ePHI, a healthcare practise must designate one security and one privacy officer.