All health care organizations would need to ensure that the security rules of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are strictly complied with and this will ensure that the protected information of patients is safeguarded against any misuse. It is important to have policies that will enable that confidential information to be monitored on a continuous basis so that no unauthorized person is able to gain access to it.

5 Key Issues Of HIPAA Security Compliance

1. As all the information is processed, stored and exchanged using the electronic medium of computers, fax machines and copiers, it is important that there are policy safeguards that will help protect this information.

2. After the policies and procedures have been developed it is imperative to monitor them regularly to detect any loopholes in its management.

3. Identify key risk indicators and implement a risk management system that will help safeguard the information at all times.

4. There should be internal controls that will monitor all access to the information and have safeguards in place that will allow only authorized people to access it.

5. All the employees of the covered entities should be aware of the purpose of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Awareness is extremely important to build compliance of the act.

The employees should have ongoing training programs that will enable them to know the various changes that take place in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The existing systems need to be upgraded so that any new provisions are also implemented within the organization.

It would be advisable to identify the gaps that exist between the current polices and the new policies and procedures that are been developed. The employees should be educated on the various privacy and security provisions of HIPAA so that they are able to strictly adhere to it.

The HIPAA officer who is appointed by the covered entities would need to ensure that all the provisions of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act are followed by the employees and that they are regularly trained on any new policies and procedures. There are some very stringent provisions that need to be implemented by the entities that are specified as covered by HIPAA and any failure on their part will attract strict penalties. The penalties could run into several hundred dollars and repeated offenders may also face a jail term.

The various policies and procedures would need to be evaluated on a continuous basis. This evaluation can be internal or external depending on the choice of the organization. Although there is no official HIPAA certification requirement there are many organizations that provide expert advice to the covered entities so that all the provisions of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act are followed in an effective way. The organizations that provide this expert advice usually charge a small fee for this purpose.

Most organizations also perform internal audits and this will ensure that they are HIPAA compliant. The use of technology has simplified the entire process of processing and storing information electronically and ensures that you are HIPAA compliant.

For more information, please visit our HIPAA website.

For more information, please visit our HIPAA website http://www.hipaaexams.com

Author Bio: For more information, please visit our HIPAA website.

Category: Medical Business
Keywords: HIPAA certification ,HIPAA Security ,HIPAA Compliant,Health Insurance