The Importance of HIPAA Compliance: What You Need to Know
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a set of rules designed to protect the privacy of an individual’s medical records. The act also has many implications for businesses dealing with sensitive customer information.
In light of recent data breaches at major companies, such as Yahoo!, Equifax, and Target, HIPAA compliance has never been more important. The potential consequences for failing to uphold privacy regulations are severe. If you’re operating a healthcare business and aren’t familiar with HIPAA compliance, you should keep reading to learn more.
Why is HIPAA Compliance so Important?
The Hippa Act is a set of privacy and security standards for the healthcare industry. Any business that handles sensitive health information must be compliant with this law.
The main goal of HIPAA is to protect patient’s privacy and provide them with control over how their personal health information is used. There are various rules within the HIPAA law, but businesses follow these guidelines when interacting with patients with health plans.
Some of the most important regulations are related to data security. Healthcare providers must ensure that patient data is not compromised and that hackers cannot access any information. The penalties for failing to comply with HIPAA are severe. If you’re not compliant, you could be fined up to $50,000 per violation per day.
Even worse, if you’re not in compliance and are hacked, you could be liable for the incident. If you don’t comply with HIPAA, your customers may worry about the safety of their information.
This could result in them taking their business to a more secure provider. HIPAA compliance is essential for maintaining the trust of your customers.
What Does HIPAA Compliance Involve?
HIPAA training for business associates includes ensuring that your business has adequate security protocols and documenting how you handle sensitive information.
Regarding security protocols, you must ensure that your physical facility has the proper safeguards. You should have a firewall and intrusion detection system and robust log-in procedures. You must also securely store medical records.
You should use encryption when possible, and you should also use safeguarded file transfer technology. Documenting how you handle sensitive information can be a little trickier. It’s essential to have a written HIPAA compliance policy and actually to follow the policy when it comes to handling information.
You should ensure that everyone on your staff knows the rules. You should also conduct periodic audits to ensure everyone follows the rules.
The Penalties for Failing to Comply With HIPAA
As we mentioned earlier, the penalties for failing to comply with HIPAA are severe. You could be liable for the breach if you’re not compliant and are hacked. In addition, you could be fined up to $50,000 per violation per day.
It’s important to understand that the consequences for non-compliance extend beyond fines. If you’re not in compliance and your customers discover that they could have their health information exposed, then they may take legal action against you. You could also face legal action from state regulators.
You could be notified if you get a complaint you’re not in compliance with. If you ignore this notice, you could be fined immediately. The best way to avoid these consequences is to follow the rules from the get-go.
Deciding Whether to Become Compliant
If you’re unsure whether your business needs to become HIPAA compliant, it’s best to err on caution. You need to be compliant if you work with customers with health plans. If you’re unsure how to become compliant, there are two potential routes you can take.
First, you can talk to your attorney about the best way to comply with HIPAA rules. Your attorney will know the laws inside and out and can help you understand what you need to do to become compliant.
You should also talk to your customers and ensure they understand that you comply with HIPAA laws. Customers often don’t understand the importance of HIPAA compliance, and they may be more comfortable if they know that you comply.
How to Become Compliant
If you’re not yet compliant with HIPAA, you’ll need to take a few steps. First, you’ll need to perform an audit of your business. You’ll need to look for potential threats to your customers’ information security.
You’ll then need to create a plan for addressing these threats. Once you’ve addressed all potential threats, you can submit a HIPAA compliance plan to your state’s Office of Health Information and its customers.
Once you’ve done all this, you’ll comply with HIPAA. From there, you’ll need to continue to monitor and update your security protocols to stay compliant.
Conclusion
The healthcare industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world. If you operate a healthcare business, you must comply with HIPAA. Failure to follow HIPAA rules could result in severe consequences, including fines and legal action.
The best way to avoid these consequences is to follow the rules from the get-go. If you’re unsure how to become compliant, talk to your attorney and your customers. Once you’re compliant, you’ll need to continue to monitor and update your security protocols to stay compliant.
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The Importance of HIPAA Compliance: What You Need to Know
