Think Your Practice Management Software Makes You HIPAA Compliant?

Complying with HIPAA security standards is a complex matter that demands a comprehensive solution. As a busy healthcare provider, it’s easy and convenient to trust that your practice management software satisfies the necessary HIPAA requirements to keep your electronic medical records safe. But the truth is, in most cases, it doesn’t.

A False Sense of Security

It is a common misnomer that electronic health record (EHR) systems make your practice HIPAA compliant. Companies claim they provide tools that support compliance for technical safeguards. A good thing, but technical safeguards are only one component needed to protect electronic public health information. The HIPAA Security Rule requires two other components: administrative safeguards and physical safeguards. Administrative safeguards include policies and procedures that HIPAA requires and critically important business associate agreements. Physical safeguards protect your data from breaches and unauthorized access. The platform you use to manage your practice might tout that their cloud-based system provides encryption and protection from ransomware. Great, but the question is: do they have all of the crucial aspects needed for HIPAA compliance? Read this next sentence twice. Using practice management software that purports to be HIPAA compliant does not make your practice compliant.

Unfortunately, when it comes to HIPAA compliance, a false sense of security can be dangerous. The violation fines for not following the guidelines enforced by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights are costly and can irreparably damage your practice’s reputation. In 2018 alone, HIPAA fines topped $28 million. By not properly protecting your electronic health records, you increase the likelihood of a cyberattack. Being hacked might strike you as a random, unlikely occurrence, but statistics tell a different story. According to a 2016 Lloyd’s Report, 92% of businesses experienced a data breach within a five-year period.

A Complete HIPAA Solution

PCIHIPAA is an industry leader in HIPAA compliance and data breach protection. We alleviate the angst and uncertainties associated with HIPAA compliancy with a powerful tool called OfficeSafe. Here’s how our software solution fully protects HIPAA electronic medical records:

• Comprehensive Risk Assessment – A risk assessment is an annual audit required under the HIPAA Security Rule. Our audit of your practice’s protected health information produces a 22-page report, identifying the potential risks and vulnerabilities to your practice.
• Easy Creation of Policies and Procedures – HIPAA regulatory standards mandate that covered entities and business associates develop policies and procedures. OfficeSafe makes regularly updating your policies and procedures easy, ensuring that your staff is informed on important issues such as governing access to electronic public health information and identifying malicious software attacks.
• Online Employee Training – Improperly trained employees can lead to reckless handling of electronic public health information and costly HIPAA fines. We take this time-consuming task off of your plate and ensure that your staff understands exactly what is required by HIPAA law.
• Crucial Business Associate Agreements – Every vendor and individual you share protected health information with must have a business associate agreement. OfficeSafe makes creating and securely executing these agreements simple and convenient.
• $500,000 Cyber Insurance Coverage – Our guaranteed expense reimbursement policy for HIPAA violations covers a range of first and third party exposures, including both physical and non-physical risks. In the event of a HIPAA fine, data breach, or cyberattack, we’ll protect your practice from lost revenue and prevent an interruption to your business.
• Email Encryption and Encrypted Cloud-Based Data Backup – At PCIHIPAA, keeping your data secure is our top priority. Our data backup solution is HIPAA compliant with 256-bit encryption and SQL database restoration capabilities. It enables you to distribute confidential protected health information without worry of ransomware or an unexpected incident.
• Incident Response Management – Do you have a plan in place in the event of a hurricane, fire, or ransomware attack? Proper preparation—including a data backup plan, a data restoration plan, and an emergency mode operations plan—is a necessity. With OfficeSafe, once you report an incident we’ll work with your IT provider to mitigate the damage and get your business back on track.
• PCI Certification – PCI is part of our company name for a good reason. As part of our compliance program, we help you complete the Payment Card Industry (PCI) requirements. Our PCI Compliance program also includes quarterly scans of your network.

The dark web is getting smarter. The risk of not fully and properly securing and maintain your patient’s medical records is a mistake your business can’t afford to make. The good news is peace of mind for your practice and your patients is a click away. Take a complimentary HIPAA Assessment right now, and be on your way toward total HIPAA compliance.