Violations of HIPAA regulations carry with them serious consequences including hefty fines or even the possibility of criminal charges and jail time for knowingly committing violations. While intentional violations of HIPAA are a serious concern, most violations are committed accidentally through employee error. Through proper education and HIPAA training, you can protect yourself, your employees, and most importantly, your patients from the repercussions of HIPAA violations. Following are a few simple ways you can help train your employees in these matters.
Keep Everyone on the Same Page
One of the best ways to prevent violations is to keep your staff aware of HIPAA regulations and up-to-date with any changes in policy through the use of regular training sessions. A single yearly training course is not sufficient, nor is focusing training efforts on new employees only. Hold regular training sessions throughout the year and test all employees on HIPAA regulations, regardless of how long they have worked for you.
It is also good practice to keep HIPAA policy information easily accessible to employees and even deliver it to them periodically through email or other means.
Practice Proper Data Backup and Retrieval
Not only is practicing proper data backup and retrieval a good idea when dealing with electronically protected health information (ePHI), but it is legally mandated. Medical practices are required to have access to ePHI at all times or they may find themselves out of compliance with HIPAA. No data stored electronically is completely safe. Hardware failures, viruses, accidental deletion, and theft of hard drives or computers can all put you at risk of data loss. While there are several steps you can take to mitigate these problems, it is impossible to guarantee the safety of your data without using cloud storage backup.
In addition to implementing a cloud storage solution in your practice, your staff must be educated in its use as well. All employees who have access to ePHI should be aware of HIPAA policies regarding the storage and access of confidential information. Staff need to be aware of what files require regular backup and how to access backup files in the event of data loss or accidental deletion. This can be accomplished through creating an archive policy explicitly stating:
The type of files requiring backup
Proper use of your cloud hosting service
Rules for who has access to ePHI data
Cloud storage is absolutely essential to being HIPAA compliant. Include your archive policy and training in the use of your cloud storage system as part of your regular HIPAA training sessions.
To take some of the burden off of your staff, be sure to invest in a HIPAA compliant backup solution that backs up your data continuously and automatically, without user feedback or scheduling. Too often, employees forget to schedule a backup and lose important data as a result. A continuous, automatic backup service can prevent that.
Sweating The Small Stuff
Employee error is the most common cause of HIPAA violation. Keep your staff mindful of the importance of protecting patient information and how easy it can be to accidentally commit a violation. Examples of protecting against accidental violations include:
Limiting social media use in the office to prevent PHI from being accidentally shared in videos or folders.
Not using patient’s full names out loud as to not be overheard.
Not sharing passwords among staff members.
Limiting the use of email for ePHI.
Only accessing information when necessary
Compliance with HIPAA policies is in the best interest of both your practice and and your patients. The best way to avoid costly and serious violations is to provide your staff with regular HIPAA training sessions that will educate your employees in both HIPAA rules and regulations, and in their practical application. This includes everything from simple ways they can be mindful of HIPAA to the proper use of your HIPAA mandated cloud storage system.
Make cloud backup easier on your medical practice. Invest in a continuous, automatic cloud backup service now so your patient’s EHR will always be retrievable.
