5 Ways to Minimize HIPAA Liabilities

July 12th, 2019 - BC Advantage
Categories:   Acupuncture|Alternative   Allergy|Immunology   Anesthesia|Pain Management   Behavioral Health|Psychiatry|Psychology   Billing   Cardiology|Vascular   Chiropractic   Dental   Dermatology|Plastic Surgery   Emergency Medicine   Endocrinology   ENT|Otolaryngology   Gastroenterology   Home Health|Hospice   Internal Medicine   Laboratory|Pathology   Interventional Radiology   Neurology|Neurosurgery   Obstetrics|Gynecology   Oncology|Hematology   Optometry   Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery   Orthopedics   Pediatrics   Physical Medicine|Physical Therapy   Podiatry   Primary Care|Family Care   Pulmonology   Radiology   Rheumatology   Skilled Nursing   Urology|Nephrology  

Last year was historic for HIPAA enforcement. The HHS Office of Civil Rights collected a record $23.5 million in settlements and judgments against providers guilty of HIPAA violations. To avoid becoming part of that unwanted statistic, it’s important to pay extra close attention to five key areas of HIPAA vulnerability.

Take Advantage of Refresher Training
The best way to protect against liabilities is to continually educate and train staff. A practice may feel confident that it understands HIPAA. But while close to 90 percent of doctors believe their practices are fully compliant, at least 75 percent of them still have rudimentary questions about HIPAA. That indicates that the vast majority of providers can benefit from a HIPAA compliance refresher course. Participants should include everyone from top administrators to community volunteers. Training everyone with access to PHI isn’t just a good idea; it’s the law.

Encrypt Data
Any lost, stolen, or hacked electronic device containing protected patient information can be an expensive liability. All electronic PHI should be securely encrypted. That includes data communicated via email, text messages, and smartphone messaging apps. Even though an app like the popular WhatsApp may boast that it offers encryption, it may still lack proper authentication controls. Before using any text messaging service to communicate patient information, make sure the practice has a signed HIPAA-compliant business associate agreement with the service provider.

Control Devices
Most healthcare employees understand that they should never share passwords or log-in information. But these credentials should never even be written down. Another way that HIPAA violations frequently occur is because a computer screen is left on where unauthorized persons can see it. Front office staff and nurses may step away from a computer to handle an emergency, leaving the screen temporarily visible or photographable. Physicians sometimes make the mistake of leaving a laptop open at home, where others – including family members or friends – can see patient information. Those are innocent mistakes, but are still liabilities.

Secure Online Portals and Safeguard Paper Records
Paper records continue to represent potential liability as long as they exist. They must be securely handled and archived until shredded. Practices that have not transitioned from paper documents such as invoices and monthly statements can avoid HIPAA liability – and the effort that paper documents require – by going digital. Electronic records are easier to manage, search, store, and protect. There are fully compliant platforms that can safeguard patient records while also giving patients easier 24/7 access. That reduces liability and front office calls from patients. Patients gain greater control over their care with more transparency. A patient portal can also enhance doctor/patient interaction and communication.

Beware Social Media
Most healthcare workers know not to post photos of patients online. But sometimes sharing photos that don’t include patients can still be a liability because confidential information is accidentally included. Criminals often blow up photos that include a work station or home office, for example, to focus in on relatively obscure and minor details. A piece of paper or file in the background may contain PHI. That’s why it’s good policy to be extra vigilant regarding tweets, Facebook posts, and pictures uploaded to sites like Instagram. When in doubt, don’t upload it, share it, or talk about it.

###

Questions, comments?

If you have questions or comments about this article please contact us.  Comments that provide additional related information may be added here by our Editors.


Latest articles:  (any category)

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare - A Medical Coder's Perspective
December 26th, 2023 - Aimee Wilcox
We constantly hear how AI is creeping into every aspect of healthcare but what does that mean for medical coders and how can we better understand the language used in the codeset? Will AI take my place or will I learn with it and become an integral part of the process that uses AI to enhance my abilities? 
Specialization: Your Advantage as a Medical Coding Contractor
December 22nd, 2023 - Find-A-Code
Medical coding contractors offer a valuable service to healthcare providers who would rather outsource coding and billing rather than handling things in-house. Some contractors are better than others, but there is one thing they all have in common: the need to present some sort of value proposition in order to land new clients. As a contractor, your value proposition is the advantage you offer. And that advantage is specialization.
ICD-10-CM Coding of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
December 19th, 2023 - Aimee Wilcox
Chronic respiratory disease is on the top 10 chronic disease list published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Although it is a chronic condition, it may be stable for some time and then suddenly become exacerbated and even impacted by another acute respiratory illness, such as bronchitis, RSV, or COVID-19. Understanding the nuances associated with the condition and how to properly assign ICD-10-CM codes is beneficial.
Changes to COVID-19 Vaccines Strike Again
December 12th, 2023 - Aimee Wilcox
According to the FDA, CDC, and other alphabet soup entities, the old COVID-19 vaccines are no longer able to treat the variants experienced today so new vaccines have been given the emergency use authorization to take the place of the old vaccines. No sooner was the updated 2024 CPT codebook published when 50 of the codes in it were deleted, some of which were being newly added for 2024.
Updated ICD-10-CM Codes for Appendicitis
November 14th, 2023 - Aimee Wilcox
With approximately 250,000 cases of acute appendicitis diagnosed annually in the United States, coding updates were made to ensure high-specificity coding could be achieved when reporting these diagnoses. While appendicitis almost equally affects both men and women, the type of appendicitis varies, as dose the risk of infection, sepsis, and perforation.
COVID Vaccine Coding Changes as of November 1, 2023
October 26th, 2023 - Wyn Staheli
COVID vaccine changes due to the end of the PHE as of November 1, 2023 are addressed in this article.
Medicare Guidance Changes for E/M Services
October 11th, 2023 - Wyn Staheli
2023 brought quite a few changes to Evaluation and management (E/M) services. The significant revisions as noted in the CPT codebook were welcome changes to bring other E/M services more in line with the changes that took place with Office or Other Outpatient Services a few years ago. As part of CMS’ Medicare Learning Network, the “Evaluation and Management Services Guide” publication was finally updated as of August 2023 to include the changes that took place in 2023. If you take a look at the new publication (see references below),....



Home About Terms Privacy

innoviHealth® - 62 E 300 North, Spanish Fork, UT 84660 - Phone 801-770-4203 (9-5 Mountain)

Copyright © 2000-2024 innoviHealth Systems®, Inc. - CPT® copyright American Medical Association