Significance Of Being HIPAA Compliant

The significance of being HIPAA compliant cannot be overemphasized, because failure to adhere to regulations may lead to hefty fines or prison conditions. Who wants to become compliant?  Under HIPAA, covered entities and business associates are mandated to ensure the privacy of protected health information (PHI).  Software for filing ACA aids you to complete your work on time hassle free.

Covered entities include health care providers such as hospitals and physician clinics, as well as health programs, and health program clearinghouses.  Business associates refer to companies that perform services for a covered entity and consequently have to receive, maintain, or transmit PHI.

HIPAA Compliance: HIPAA includes comprehensive requirements for businesses which hold PHI.  They have to give special focus on safeguarding the physical security of their data, and in addition, access to PHI ought to be restricted to key employees.  Administrators need to know about potential threats, and regular security updates are required to identify possible dangers posed by phishing scams and data hacking.

Covered entities should put a balanced compliance program set up and ensure that the relevant personnel is aware of HIPAA requirements.  They should also evaluate their security controls periodically, and make sure PHI is encrypted.  Information that is encrypted cannot be accessed if it is stolen or lost.

HIPAA audits: HIPAA has an audit program that randomly selects covered entities to get an audit.  OCR is responsible for enforcing HIPAA’s security and privacy regulations. The purpose of the audit will be to assess compliance with HIPAA’s privacy and security rules, in addition to with Breach notification rules.  The Breach telling rule stipulates that if there’s a security breach in connection with PHI, the covered entity or business associate must notify the affected individual about the episode