What is HIPAA?
HIPAA stands for the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and is a federal law requiring national standards to protect the privacy and security of sensitive health information. It is important to remain compliant with all HIPAA regulations as it can result in legal issues, heavy fines, and even jail time. However, there are a lot of HIPAA standards to be knowledgeable of to remain compliant and cover various areas in a business. Listed below is a HIPAA checklist to help inform you of all HIPAA policies as of 2022.
HIPAA Privacy Rule Checklist
(1)Designate a HIPAA Privacy Officer responsible for developing, implementing, and enforcing HIPAA-compliant policies.
(2)Understand what PHI is, how it can be used and disclosed in compliance with HIPAA, and when an individual´s authorization is required.
(3)Identify risks to the privacy of PHI and implement safeguards to minimize risks to a “reasonable and appropriate” level.
(4)Develop policies and procedures for using and disclosing PHI to comply with HIPAA and prevent violations.
(5)Develop policies and procedures for obtaining authorizations and allowing individuals to agree or object when required.
(6)Develop and distribute a Notice of Privacy Practices explaining how the organization uses and discloses PHI and outlining individuals´ rights.
(7)Develop policies and procedures for managing patient access requests (to their PHI), correction requests, and data transfer requests.
(8)Develop procedures for workforce members to report HIPAA violations and for the organization to fulfill its breach notification requirements.
(9)Train workforce members on the policies and procedures relevant to their roles and general HIPAA compliance.
(10)Develop and distribute a policy outlining the sanctions for non-compliance with the organization´s HIPAA policies.
(11)Perform due diligence on Business Associates, review existing Business Associate Agreements, and revise as necessary.
(12)Develop and document a contingency plan for responding to an emergency that damages systems or physical locations in which PHI is maintained.
Conclusion
The provided HIPAA checklists contain a lot of information that can be hard to understand. Luckily, professional service providers, such as MedPro Waste Disposal, make it easy for businesses to comply with HIPAA guidelines through compliance training and attaining a HIPAA certification. In addition, MedPro provides HIPAA compliance training through an online portal, making it easy and convenient for all businesses looking to get a HIPAA certification. To learn more about MedPro’s HIPAA Compliance Training services, click here.
