There are some organizations that are classified as covered entities by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and they would need to follow all the rules and regulations of the act. There are very strict security compliance provisions that help safeguard protected information of patients and this needs to be adhered to.

The various organizations that need to comply with HIPAA security rules include health care service providers include clinics, hospitals, laboratories, nursing facilities, physicians and pharmacies. The security rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act should also be complied by individual or group plans that provide and pay for the medical cost.

Apart from this there are various entities that facilitate the process of processing the data into electronic format and these are known as health care clearing houses and they would also need to comply with the rules.

It is important that the covered entities strictly adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in safeguarding and protecting the confidential information of patients as all the information related to patients is captured and stored electronically on computers and other devices.

Top 5 Policies For Safeguarding Protected Information Of Patients

1. Only authorized individuals should be able to gain access to the protected information and it should be restricted. It would be advisable to keep computers and other electronic equipment that contain all confidential information of patients in a safe place. The information on the computer screen should not be viewed by everyone and it would be best if it is positioned accordingly.

2. Strong passwords that are a combination of alphabets, numeric and special characters should be used. It would be best if you keep changing the passwords at regular intervals so that misuse or fraud is prevented.

3. It would be advisable to change the passwords immediately whenever any individual who has been accessing the files and other protected information leaves the job, so that they are not able to access the programs from outside the organization.

4. There should be a log that specified who accessed the file on a particular day and all storage devices that are used to store the protected information should be accounted for properly.

5. Confidential information on papers should be stored electronically if possible and the papers should be shredded so that no one can misuse the information. All the employees must be trained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act so that they are able to adhere to the security rules specified therein.

Monitoring of the policies and procedures that are created to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act should be done at regular intervals and this will ensure that violations are kept at the minimum. All employees must be trained to follow all the rules and regulations of HIPAA and this will help in avoiding violations and penalties.

You would also be able to safeguard the protected information of patients by conducting regular internal audit checks. This will ensure better compliance and prevent misuse of the confidential information for commercial purposes.

For more information, please visit our HIPAA Certificate website.

For more information, please visit our HIPAA Certificate website http://www.hipaaexams.com/hipaa-certificate.html

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

Category: Medical Business
Keywords: HIPAA Compliance,Health Insurance