HIPAA Compliant EHR: All You Need to Know
Bizmatics: A Harris Computer Company
Cloud-based software helping medical practices to transform care delivery for greater health outcomes.
Overview?
Data security is essential in healthcare organizations as cyber-attacks are aimed at the healthcare sector. Any Electronic Health Record (EHR) system requires safeguards to ensure that data is available when needed and that information is not used, disclosed, accessed, modified, or deleted inappropriately during storage, recovery, or transmission.?
?As per a report in 2021, about 45 million people were affected by health data breaches while hacking/IT incidents remain the most common breach type, compared to unauthorized access/disclosure, theft, and loss. Another analysis showed that hacking incidents aimed at outpatient facilities and specialized clinics increased by 41 percent in 2021 compared to 2020.?
John Delano, healthcare cybersecurity strategist at Critical Insight and vice president at Christus Health stated in a press release “As we continue into 2022, healthcare organizations need to be on guard not only of their cybersecurity posture but also of third-party vendors that have access to data and networks. We are seeing more awareness and proactive approaches to cybersecurity within this sector, but there is still a long way to go.”?
HIPAA Compliance and EHR?
There are strict rules established for the use of EHRs by government entities to protect patients' health information (PHI). The rules are comprehensive and may seem difficult to understand. Non-compliance will face severe penalties. Software programs are created with EHR privacy and security rules in mind.?
Healthcare organizations may have a misconception that just because the EHR system they are using is compliant with HIPAA, they are too. In addition to having a compliant EHR system, there are other considerations and factors that need to be considered when securing your HIPAA compliance. Healthcare providers must make sure that their systems are password-protected, and can their users only access the least amount of PHI needed to do their job? Is data transmitted on a secure network? Are your employees trained in HIPAA compliance??
HIPAA and Telehealth?
Telehealth is a care delivery method that has almost unlimited potential, but for it to be used most effectively, it must be compatible with the EHR.?
HIPAA had no specific norms applicable to telehealth prior to the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changes regarding telehealth and HIPAA.??
As per HIPAA “during the COVID-19 national emergency, which also constitutes a nationwide public health emergency, covered health care providers subject to the HIPAA Rules may seek to communicate with patients and provide telehealth services, through remote communications technologies. Some of these technologies and the way they are used by HIPAA-covered health care providers, may not fully comply with the requirements of the HIPAA Rules.”??
Who Must Comply with its Rules??
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 requires the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish regulations to protect the security and privacy of certain health information. The HIPAA Act safeguards the use of EHRs and bans the release of patient information without our consent. The HHS established two basic rules, The HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA Security Rule. They also provided a list of who must comply with the rules. The listed entities include?
Health Plans: This comprises all health plans, individual or group regardless of what entity sponsors the plan if the plan pays the cost of medical care. Providers of medical, dental, and vision care, prescription drug insurers, health organizations (HMOs), Medicare, Medicare Advantage or supplement insurers, and long-term care insurers.?
领英推荐
Health Care Providers: A health care provider that uses EHR for a standard medical transaction is a covered entity (CE) and must comply with the HIPAA rules. If health care providers charge for their services, they are CEs.?
Health Care Clearinghouses: Health care clearinghouses are entities such as billing services, repricing companies, and community health management information services, for example. The Privacy Rules apply to them when they work in a way that provides them with access to a patient’s PHI.?
Business Associates: A business partner (BA) is a person or organization that provides services to a CE that involves the use or disclosure of a patient’s PHI.?
Business Associate Contract: When a covered entity uses a contractor or other non-workforce member to perform BA services or activities, the Rule requires the CE to have a contract that specifies the expected protections for compliance with HIPAA privacy safeguards of the EHR.?
How to Ensure Your Software is HIPAA Compliant?
There is an ample amount of EHR software available on the market. Not all of them are HIPAA compliant. To ensure that the software you use for your EHRs is compliant, it must meet the following criteria:?
Technology and people are getting increasingly connected with each passing day. The healthcare sector is using this advancement in technology to its advantage. Modern methods of communication such as smartphones and tablets can be used to reach out to patients. At PrognoCIS, we ensure that with the right precautionary measures, physicians can stay HIPAA compliant while using mobile devices to connect with their patients.?
Here is how PrognoCIS help you to be HIPAA Compliant:?
PrognoCIS is a fully integrated EHR solution for any medical practice, and a Meaningful-Stage 3 certified EHR that provides a powerful platform for secure data storage, retrieval, and transmission. It provides HIPAA compliance in the following ways:?
Use AlertLogic CloudDefender tools and services to monitor and protect our cloud Environment?
Contact us to learn more about HIPAA Compliance and measures that PrognoCIS takes to help ensure the privacy and security of your PHI