Six Reality Checks of HIPAA Compliance

Between Windows XP causing HIPAA compliance issues and the risk associated with the risk assessment required by meaningful use, many in healthcare are really waking up to the HIPAA compliance requirements. Certainly there’s always been an overtone of HIPAA compliance in the industry, but its one thing to think about HIPAA compliance and another to be HIPAA compliant.

This whitepaper called HIPAA Compliance: 6 Reality Checks is a great wake up call to those that feel they have nothing to worry about when it comes to HIPAA. While many are getting ready, there are still plenty that need a reality check when it comes to HIPAA compliance.

Here’s a look at why everyone could likely benefit from a HIPAA reality check:
(1) Data breaches are a constant threat
(2) OCR audits reveal health care providers are not in compliance
(3) Workforce members pose a significant risk for HIPAA liability
(4) Patients are aware of their right to file a complaint
(5) OCR is increasing its focus on HIPAA enforcement
(6) HIPAA Compliance is not an option, it’s LAW

Obviously, the whitepaper goes into a lot more detail on each of these areas. As I look through the list, what seems clear to me is that HIPAA compliance is a problem. Every organization should ask themselves the following questions:

Are we HIPAA compliant?

What are you doing to mitigate the risk of a breach or HIPAA violation?

When I look at the 6 Reality Checks details in the whitepaper, I realize that everyone could benefit from a harder look at their HIPAA compliance. A little bit of investment now, could save a lot of heartache later.

About the author

John Lynn

John Lynn is the Founder of HealthcareScene.com, a network of leading Healthcare IT resources. The flagship blog, Healthcare IT Today, contains over 13,000 articles with over half of the articles written by John. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 20 million times.

John manages Healthcare IT Central, the leading career Health IT job board. He also organizes the first of its kind conference and community focused on healthcare marketing, Healthcare and IT Marketing Conference, and a healthcare IT conference, EXPO.health, focused on practical healthcare IT innovation. John is an advisor to multiple healthcare IT companies. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can be found on Twitter: @techguy.

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