HIPAA compliance and HIPAA certification is a common and base term of the healthcare industry. However when the actual compliance of HIPAA privacy is to be considered there is a lot of difference. There are essential steps required for the fulfillment of the HIPAA rules. If the basic components of the required documentation is missing the organization is under the threat of breach or unauthorized transmission of information. To implement HIPAA a well structured plan is required and small individual tasks are required to get through the entire HIPAA compliance. To help with compliance of HIPAA these are the essential steps:
1] Conduct Risk Assessment:
Risk assessment should be done frequently or at least annually. Make a written report of the risk assessment that has the information on how the audit was conducted, how the system was evaluated and what the identified risks were. A well structured risk management plan should be drafted to address the risk identified.
2] Create, review and update HIPAA policies and procedures:
Policies and procedures lay the base for successful implementation of HIPAA. A gap analysis should be undertaken to identify the policies that have been missed upon. Thoroughly check that all the policies as stated for HIPAA compliance are being met. HIPAA Audit standards should be used as the base guide to check the policies are being complied or not.
3] Provide the employees with HIPAA training:
It is crucial to train all the employees with HIPAA compliance. The employees should be aware of the HIPAA process and procedure that have been established in your organization. The training is an ongoing process and annually or at regular intervals the employees should be trained. Moreover with the hiring of new employee he should be provided with the HIPAA training.
4] Conduct regular Audits for HIPAA:
It is one of the most essential aspect of HIPAA that there should be regular audits for it. These audits will clarify whether HIPAA has been complied with or not and to also ascertain that who is assessing the public health information and for what reasons. A well planned and executed HIPAA audit program can decrease the risk of internal vulnerabilities and any unauthorized use of information from the external sources. Added advantage is the organization will come in terms with the areas where there is lack of compliance and thus a course of action can be framed to overcome these issues.
5] Use security technologies:
HIPAA does not lay the use of any specific technology for its compliance but the use of technology makes it easier to comply with HIPAA. For successful compliance of HIPAA it is essential to work with information technology department or information technology seller to ascertain that the technology is in accordance with HIPAA. Technologies like encryption of emails, intrusion detection software, logging software, or copy paste software, should be carefully checked for any loopholes.
For successful compliance of HIPAA implement it step by step, and build a solid HIPAA compliance program.
