HIPAA Compliant Data Hosting With Office 365
When operating a company that deals with HIPAA Compliance, the largest worry is always security. How do we operate at such a high level of security when I am constantly having to run a complex business? Companies tend to shy away from HIPAA Compliance issues because they are so time consuming, and there is no way to maintain compliance with their current work load.
What we sometimes forget is that there are ways to streamline the way you do business and make time for HIPAA Compliance. There is often so much going on we fail to see the answers in front of us because we are always struggling to keep up. When we look at our current daily operations there is one common function throughout the practice, and that is Technology. Health care professionals are put in a difficult situation and aren’t always given enough time to consider all the options. We would like to show you what technology can do for you.
3 Great HIPAA Compliant Mobile Messaging Platforms
I know for most clinic/offices, there are vast amounts of integration with other healthcare providers. One doctor may have several patients who are being treated with home health or hospice, and the amount of Protected Health Information (PHI) used in these interactions can be staggering. Vast quantities of information being passed from one entity to another occur all day, and almost every day. The real questions doctors are asking themselves is how do I streamline the review process, so days are not spent just reading notes! You often end up using the most convenient way of communicating, which is your cell phone. Almost nothing is faster, or less labor intensive than a simple text message.
TEXT MESSAGES ARE NOT HIPAA COMPLIANT. Ok. Let me make sure you heard that correctly. TEXT MESSAGES ARE NOT HIPAA COMPLIANT. That being said, it can be in certain circumstances where texting/messaging is HIPAA Compliant. There are some things you need to know before you start firing messages away thinking you are in the clear though!
Why Pirated Business Software Is Not A Good Idea
Software Piracy is the name and not getting caught is the game. To date Software, video, gamer, music piracy is looked at as, not that bad. No matter how untrue the statement, perception is reality and we can only do our best to show what reality looks like. Despite a pretty rigorous ad campaign from Hollywood in theaters, and active pursuit of illegal web downloading, the world is seeing big increases in software piracy. These cheap software files, movies, games, and music don’t always come with a “FREE” price tag. As a matter of fact, we have found that up to 97% of these downloading sites contain Malware, Spyware, and Viruses waiting to be downloaded via “Free Software”. This is just the beginning of what can happen when downloading illegally.
Are you Really HIPAA Compliant?
Automating your HIPAA Compliance Methods may be a bit daunting when presented as a whole. It’s impossible to effectively obtain HIPAA compliance by yourself these days. Since the introduction of the HITECH Act and the new Omnibus Rule, Things have only become more difficult. Now that most practices have moved to an EHR system, network security has become of utmost importance. Risk Management is no longer a task that can be internally maintained by a small family practice.
HIPAA Risk Analysis Necessities
Arguably Most Important
The HIPAA Risk Analysis is arguably one of the most important pieces to the HIPAA Puzzle. When dealing with ePHI it is becoming increasingly difficult to ward off cyber attacks, and identity thieves. A thorough risk assessment should tell you everything you need to know about your network security and how to keep ePHI secure! The risk analysis should provide you with vast amounts of useful data to create an audit trail for the future, and to help create and/or modify your Policies and Procedures.
How Do I Become HIPAA Compliant?
When it comes to HIPAA Risk Analysis, you can’t afford to be too careful. Take this latest breach at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University for example. One applications developer decided to deactivate a personally owned computer’s firewall restrictions, and disabled everyone’s Firewall protection resulting in searchable ePHI on Google. This breach resulted in the largest HIPAA breach fine ever. $4.8m in fines later, and a few less jobs… I am sure there wasn’t a risk analysis performed.
Despite the administrative groups best efforts to shave costs, their wallets undoubtable got a little thinner. The moral of this story is…”Never skimp in an area that can end up costing you MILLIONS of dollars. If you are fueling a business that has a lot of traffic in ePHI, it is probably best that the health care component stays separate from the rest of your business operations. This process is simple and can be done in house for little money if you know what you are doing. Here are a few ways to capitalize on the things you have control over.