What is the role and purpose of a HIPAA compliance officer? In your organization, who is responsible for ensuring HIPAA compliance? The Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires…
Category: HIPAA & Compliance
HIPAA Compliance Certification – Really?
HIPAA compliance certification, what is it, who provides it, and who gets it! The “author” of a HIPAA compliance certificate is always a “private” party or organization. In that sense,…
HIPAA Compliance Settlements – 6 to learn from for 2020
HIPAA compliance settlements are many and expensive! As we kick off 2020, there are a few things to consider from HIPAA compliance settlements, and how it is being enforced. If…
Section of HIPAA not Allowed – Recent District Court Decision
A Federal District Court decision in Washington, D.C last week is gathering headlines about portions of HIPAA being thrown out by the decision. As sometimes happens, the decision splits the…
HIPAA Breach Notification Letter
If your business or organization experienced a HIPAA breach, one of the important responses includes a HIPAA breach notification letter, to notify the individuals affected by the breach. The HIPAA…
What Does HIPAA Compliance Mean?
What exactly is HIPAA, and what does HIPAA compliance mean? Healthcare providers and their business associates are aware of the importance of maintaining HIPAA compliance. However, understanding the complete guidelines…
Outsourcing Corporate Compliance in Rural Hospitals
Outsourcing Corporate Compliance in Rural Hospitals is increasingly seen as the most cost-effective means of having and measuring an effective corporate compliance program. And, lest we forget – it should…
HIPAA Breach Penalties and What To Do About Them
Understanding HIPAA breach penalties can be a problem for many providers. It can be a great challenge, in part, because of the myriad ways in which a breach can occur….
HIPAA Compliance Requirements
HIPAA settlement payments hit an all-time high in 2018 following year-long HIPAA compliance requirements audits conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. These monetary…
Measuring Compliance Program Effectiveness – 3 Critical Questions
There have been several resources for measuring compliance program effectiveness. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) put out “Measuring Compliance Program…
HIPAA Encryption Requirements or Best Practices
HIPAA Encryption requirements? Not really! To be sure, encryption may not always be directly required, but it is often best practices. When it comes to HIPAA compliance, the way you…
OIG Workplan 2019: What’s New!
We are entering the second year of the OIG’s new approach to publicizing and managing its FY18-19 Workplan. Just like last year, the OIG Workplan 2019 is not a static document. …
Understanding HIPAA Policies and Procedures
In 1996, Congress enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) primarily to protect individuals and their personal health information (PHI) contained in medical records. HIPAA applies to all…
What is HIPAA Compliance? What You Don’t Know Can Cost You.
If you work in medical billing or healthcare administration, you probably think you can answer the question: What is HIPAA Compliance? Yet, a recent Office of Civil Rights (OCR) audit…
HIPAA Compliance Policy and Your EHR
As many organizations have found out the hard way, there is an important relationship between HIPAA compliance policy and your Electronic Medical Records (EHR). Consider these recent headlines: 100 million…
HIPAA Requirements – and how to be in compliance
Many articles and blog posts mention HIPAA compliance, but what are HIPAA requirements, and what do you have to do to be compliant? What is the security rule? The privacy…
Outsourced Chief Compliance Officer for Hospitals
For many healthcare organizations, especially smaller or rural hospitals, resources are scarce. Outsourcing can often be beneficial for hospitals. An effective approach in this situation is to outsource the management…
Why Healthcare Organizations need a HIPAA GAP Analysis
A HIPAA gap analysis, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is “typically a narrowed examination of a covered entity or business associate’s enterprise to assess…
Effective Corporate Compliance Program Checklist
An effective Corporate Compliance Program in healthcare is a critical necessity! Corporate compliance professionals spend a lot of their time assessing the performance of other people in their hospital or…
A Comprehensive HIPAA Risk Analysis in 7 Steps
Still not convinced a HIPAA Risk Analysis is not optional? Here are a couple of historical headlines: Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) has agreed to settle potential violations of…