As most health professionals know, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws protect the privacy and security of health information.
The act provides accepted security standards and requirements for protecting health information. All businesses and organizations that handle health information need to be compliant with HIPAA.
The Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) published two key sets of guidelines to help with this, which are commonly known as the Privacy Rule and the Security Rule. To learn more about these rules and how you can become compliant with HIPAA through a HIPAA Assessment, read on.
The Privacy Rule
The Privacy Rule relates to the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information. Entities subject to the rule are known as covered entities. They include healthcare providers, health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and business associates.
The Privacy Rule contains standards for people’s rights to understand and control how their health information is used. It aims to help protect individuals’ health information while still allowing for the flow of information that is required to provide high-quality health care and protect health and well-being.
The Security Rule
The Security Rule protects a subset of information that is covered by the Privacy Rule. It protects the individually identifiable health information that a covered entity creates, receives, maintains, or transmits digitally.
This type of information is referred to as electronic protected health information (e-PHI). The Security Rule only covers electronic information and doesn’t protect information transmitted orally or in writing.
Consequences of Non-Compliance with HIPAA
Non-compliance with HIPAA could prove to be very costly for any organization that is required to comply with the legislation. HIPAA violations could arise from several mistakes, including the loss of technology or lack of employee training. If your Utah medical office commits one or more HIPAA violations, you could be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars.
There are four different tiers for non-compliance with HIPAA. Each tier is briefly outlined below, along with the amount that you could be fined.
- Tier 1: The entity didn’t know and couldn’t reasonably have known about the breach. This could result in a penalty of between $100 and $50,000 per violation, up to a total of $1.5 million.
- Tier 2: The entity knew of the violation or could have known if practicing reasonable diligence but didn’t act with willful neglect. Fines can range from $1,000 to $50,000 per incident, up to a total $1.5 million.
- Tier 3: The entity acted with willful neglect but corrected the problem within 30 days of the breach. Fines start at $10,000 up to $50,000, with a total possible amount of $1.5 million.
- Tier 4: The entity acted with willful negligence and failed to correct the issue in a timely manner. Penalties for this tier start at $50,000 per incident up to $1.5 million.
Not only could a business or organization face fines when they breach HIPAA, but there can be other consequences too. For example, your business’s reputation can be affected if people hear that you have not taken the necessary steps to keep their private information safe.
Becoming HIPAA Compliant: How an MSP Can Help
If your Utah medical office needs help with becoming HIPAA compliant, a HIPAA assessment from a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can help. An MSP will assess your business and find out what steps you need to take to become HIPAA compliant.
Here are some key things that a HIPAA assessment will help your practice achieve:
- Protect your patients: Ensuring personal health data is recorded, stored, and transmitted securely protects your patients. An MSP will help you to determine whether you are compliant with HIPAA and help you handle your customers’ personal information in the right way.
- Protect your employees: Providing the right training to your employees to ensure HIPAA compliance will protect them from non-compliance consequences, including protecting their right to practice nursing or medicine. Employee training is a vital part of compliance, and an MSP can identify key areas where employees need to receive the correct training.
- Protect your business: Prevent data ransom, theft, and non-compliance, helping you avoid costly damages. Digital security breaches can lead to HIPAA non-compliance, so make sure you have a HIPAA assessment to check that you are doing everything necessary to ensure security.
A HIPAA assessment protects your business and your patients. When you use an MSP to carry out your assessment, you will get a full report on the action that you need to take to reach full compliance. You will be better positioned not only to comply with HIPAA regulations but also to keep your information well protected and secure.
