Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
The security regulations on HIPAA state that legislation allows "covered entities" to implement appropriate measures in order to be able to comply with the rules. If you fall under the category of "covered entity” you need to comply with this bill, but what does this mean exactly? How to apply this rules set to a specific organization. If money was not a factor, this would be a problem easily solved, but since we live in the real world we need to look at the bottom line.This means the measures that need to be put into effect will have to comply, but also allow a business to run as efficiently as possible.
Actually, becoming HIPAA compliant is a process that can be easily managed, but the general consensus of most companies is that they do not need to worry about it because it concerns the secure transmission of data. They assume the providers of their software will handle most, if not all of it. As a matter of fact they are right for the most part. Suppliers of the software solve the bulk of all compliance issues, but there are still a few areas left where companies must assume responsibility and take steps in order to be compliant, in order to avoid getting into trouble with the legislators.
The HIPAA requirements are that all parties concerned using specified transmission methods are to follow strict guidelines when processing sensitive information in the field of healthcare. While the software providers handle most of these requirements there are still some aspects that need to be addressed by the companies themselves.
Regulations set by HIPAA do not stop with secure and compliant transmissions; it concerns every aspect where patient information is involved. This means the whole process from retrieving to storing the hard copy files needs to be reviewed for compliance and if necessary adjusted until they are. Companies will also need to look at allowed file types that come in through their Internet connections, and what type of connections are allowed to go in and out of the offices. These are the areas where your software provider may take on the role of advisor, but the steps that need to be taken have to be set in motion by all companies themselves.
Ultimately, HIPAA compliance is about showing a professional and reasonable effort to keep data safe by implementing the right security measures for secure data transmission. This is a necessity in today’s digital age which cannot be disregarded when privacy of the client is concerned.
