HIPAAtrek Blog
Refresh your HIPAA know-how.
Patient Rights Explained: HIPAA Right of Access
A key part of the HIPAA Privacy Rule is allowing patients to access their own medical records when and how they request it. This is known as “right of access.” As HHS explains, “Providing individuals with easy access to their health information empowers them to be...
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Gap Analysis: A Tool to Audit HIPAA Compliance
You’ve heard of the SWOT analysis – a technique used to help businesses identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT analysis helps an organization identify its priorities and set a course of action. Similarly, a “gap” analysis can help a...
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How to Use Checklists as a HIPAA Training and Compliance Inspection Tool
Checklists are popular in healthcare, particularly for doctors and nurses to use during certain procedures to improve patient safety. Though your compliance department won’t use checklists for this purpose, there are ways you can use them to streamline your HIPAA...
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How to Handle a Misdirected Fax Containing Patient Information
Have you ever sent a fax to the wrong recipient? This is a common error. Besides frustrating, a misdirected fax can also be harmful. As a healthcare organization, you must comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which means sending a fax to the wrong recipient could be a...
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HIPAA Housekeeping: 4 Things to Review Before the New Year
Before you rush headlong into 2020, you might want to take a pause. In the next couple of weeks, take time to evaluate how well your HIPAA compliance program has run this year and what you can do to make it stronger in the new year. To help you evaluate and plan...
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4 HIPAA Questions Answered for the Startup Business Associate
If you have a startup that provides a product or service to medical practices, you know there are regulations governing how you collect and use your clients’ data. If you handle the health information of your clients’ patients, you are your clients’ business...
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What HIPAA Compliance Documentation Do You Need to Keep?
At a busy healthcare organization, your HIPAA compliance documentation can quickly become a tangled mess of papers and binders. You’re probably already frustrated by the sheer volume of files you’ve accumulated. But do you need all of it? When can you get rid of some...
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How to Conduct Your 2019 Security Risk Analysis: Steps 7 & 8
You have to conduct a periodic security risk analysis to make sure your organization is handling patient data securely. Plus, if you’re participating in the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program, you have to conduct an SRA by the end of 2019. To help you...
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How to Conduct Your 2019 Security Risk Analysis: Steps 5 & 6
You have to conduct a periodic security risk analysis to make sure your organization is handling patient data securely. Plus, if you’re participating in the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program, you have to conduct an SRA by the end of 2019. To help you...
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How to Conduct Your 2019 Security Risk Analysis: Steps 3 & 4
Have you conducted your security risk analysis yet? The security risk analysis is critical to making sure your organization is protecting patient data in compliance with the requirements in the HIPAA Security Rule. Plus, you have to conduct an SRA by the end of 2019...
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