Top HIPAA Compliance Mistakes

Over the previous 17 years, more than a quarter million HIPAA complaints have been submitted. One of the major responsibilities for medical facilities and professionals is HIPAA compliance. One of the most crucial parts of the medical industry is safeguarding patient privacy.

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What is Hipaa?

Even the most experienced medical practitioners, nevertheless, can make certain typical HIPAA blunders. The HIPAA standards and regulations must be kept up to date as technology and the healthcare sector develop. According to Netsec news experts, below are the shared top HIPPA compliance mistakes that many organizations make.

  1. Human Error

Many unintentional HIPPA infractions are the result of human mistake. This may also occur if a worker unintentionally exposes the hospital to a data breach by clicking on a phishing link in an email. Or, a worker might omit private information when it is readily available to others.

Another illustration is the possibility that two patients’ information will be jumbled up if they have the same name or birthday. The transmission of the data to the incorrect recipient could result in a HIPAA violation.

It is crucial that you educate your staff about all the numerous potential HIPAA violations. Your office or clinic can avoid HIPPA fines with better training and deeper understanding of frequent HIPAA errors.

  1. Unsecured Documents

All patient records must be kept secure in a doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital. You must make sure that no information or personally identifying information is displayed if you anticipate that persons other than your personnel will enter places where patient health information is stored.

If you hire painters, electricians, plumbers, or any other kind of worker to come and work in these protected areas, this may be the case. A HIPAA breach may occur if confidential patient health information is left out in the open.

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  1. Cloud Data Storage Practices

Every healthcare business would like to believe that their data storage architecture is as near to hack-proof as is humanly conceivable from an information technology perspective. The issue is that many firms neglect to compare their architecture, systems, and data storage practises to HIPAA regulations. In reality, HIPAA has only just published updated rules and regulations for businesses managing patient data in the cloud.

Most businesses employ a third party to supply their cloud-based data storage, such as Amazon Web Services or SalesForce.com. HIPAA expressly permits this technique, but it must adhere to the rules for cloud service providers (CSPs). This include adherence to standards in respect of things like system availability, data backup and recovery, and security accountability. Also required is a HIPAA-compliant plan from the healthcare organisation and CSP that addresses how to handle any possible data breaches.

  1. Hacking

We all worry about being hacked, and for good reason. Anyone can be hacked at any time, anywhere, and for any reason. It’s a severe matter, to put it mildly.

  1. Employee Dishonesty

A frequent HIPAA breach involves staff members accessing patient information without authorization. Unauthorized access is wrong and can cost a company a lot of money, whether it is done out of curiosity, spite, or to help someone else. Additionally, those who use or sell PHI for their own benefit may be subject to fines and even imprisonment. Employees who discuss patients with friends or coworkers are likewise in breach of HIPAA, which carries a heavy fine. Employees are required to be aware of their surroundings, keep patient information to themselves, and only discuss patients or clients in private settings.