What are HIPAA Violations and How to Avoid Them?
Trust and compliance are essential in the healthcare industry when it comes to protecting patient information. Protected Health Information (PHI) is protected by strict regulations established by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, violations of HIPAA continue to be a major concern, resulting in costly fines, legal repercussions, and harm to healthcare providers’ and business associates’ reputations. Any healthcare organisation must be aware of these violations and learn how to avoid them.
Common HIPAA Violations:
Unauthorised PHI:
Common Violations of HIPAA Employees accessing patient records without a valid reason constitute unauthorized access to PHI.
Improper PHI:
Sharing PHI with unauthorised individuals or entities is a form of improper disclosure.
Failure Data:
Data that is not encrypted is stored or transmitted without encryption, increasing the likelihood of data breaches.
Devices Lost:
Devices That Have Been Stolen or Lost: PHI-containing mobile devices, USB drives, or laptops that have been lost without proper security measures.
Lack of Employees:
Employees mishandling PHI as a result of a lack of understanding of HIPAA regulations due to a lack of training.
Failure Assessments:
Inability to promptly identify and mitigate security risks through the use of risk assessments.
Disposal of Records Inappropriately:
Throwing away physical or digital records without properly destroying them.
Third-Party Breach:
Business associates who fail to protect PHI in accordance with HIPAA regulations.
How to Avoid Violations of HIPAA?
How to Avoid Violations of HIPAA Strong compliance strategies are required by healthcare organisations in order to avoid costly HIPAA violations. Some best practices are as follows:
1. Limit Who Can Access PHI Based on their job roles, make sure that only authorised personnel have access to patient information. To reduce exposure, use access controls based on roles.
2. Secure and encrypt data. When transmitting and storing electronic PHI (ePHI), use encryption. Unauthorised access should also be prevented with multi-factor authentication.
3. Regularly train employees. Employees can learn best practices for handling protected health information (PHI) and how to identify security risks by attending mandatory HIPAA compliance training sessions.
4. Perform regular risk assessments. Perform regular assessments of security measures and look for holes in PHI handling. Prevent breaches by addressing potential threats.
5. Strong password policies should be used. require regularly updating passwords and complex passwords. Using multi-factor authentication will make your security better.
6. Make use of safe means of communication. Unsecured messaging platforms and unencrypted emails should not be used to share PHI. Utilise HIPAA-compliant communication tools instead.
7. Audit and Monitor Access Logs Review logs and keep track of who has access to PHI to identify unauthorised activity. Set up alerts in real time for suspicious access attempts.
8. Dispose of Records Properly To prevent unauthorised retrieval of PHI, shred physical documents and use certified data destruction services for electronic records.
9. Ensure Compliance from Business Associates With third-party vendors, sign Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) to hold them accountable for HIPAA compliance.
Conclusion
Compliance with HIPAA is more than just a legal requirement; it is also a commitment to protecting patient privacy. Actively notice security and execute strict data protection policies. Make sure to have proper employee training. Expect the organisation to prevent violations. Maintain compliance not only for financial and legal processes but also gain trust from patients.
