HIPAA 2018 - Staying Competitive and Complying with HIPAA

In today's competitive business climate, health care organizations and their business associates should be able to focus on growing their businesses and not worrying about HIPAA Compliance. Staying up to date on the newest health care information and acquiring new patients takes time. HIPAA compliance takes time. But both goals can be accomplished - in fact, a good compliance program can make you even more competitive because compliance helps protect and grow your business and sets you apart from your competitors. For example, knowing how to use social media and electronic communications within HIPAA rules is key to staying competitive. Also, managing risks is critical to reducing exposure from breaches or cybercrime. HIPAA Risk Analysis - Risk Management is the basis of the HIPAA Compliance Program of every Covered Entity and Business Associate. But mandatory HIPAA Compliance Audits conducted by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the HIPAA enforcement arm of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), found 94% of Covered Entities failed the Risk Management Audit and 87% failed the Risk Analysis Audit. And every audited Covered Entity knew well in advance that it was on the short list to be audited, had completed pre-audit questionnaires and knew the exact questions it would be asked and documentation to be provided (audit protocols).