While information technology has made some significant strides within the last decade, the same cannot be said about the regulations behind them. A perfect example of this is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). While HIPAA has been amended in the past to account for some developments that have occurred since it was first put in place in 1996, the sharing of patient information is still something that requires conscious decisions. People have gotten very used to connecting and sharing without giving security a second thought – something that can ultimately come back to haunt health care organizations.
“By converting physical fax machines to software-based interfaces, it is possible to meet the needs of the modern professional without risking a violation.”
Any entity that handles patient records – hospitals, insurance offices, etc. – is subject to HIPAA regulations. It is important to make sure that everyone on staff has an understanding of the rules, not to mention be provided with the right tools for modern productivity.
Doctors not the only HIPAA-minded professionals
Nothing can cause problems like a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, there are some professionals that don’t understand that they have to be HIPAA compliant – or worse, they could be under the wrong impression regarding what that means.
According to The Tennessean contributor Keith Dennen, this is why every company out there needs to evaluate whether or not they handle health care-related information. An oversight of this nature could lead to fines or other ramifications.
“A covered entity’s business network can be chock full of potential business associates, as this designation includes people and companies that use protected health information (PHI) – which can be anything that is identifiable to a patient in a medical record or bill – to perform services for the covered entity,” Dennen wrote. “Business associates could perform billing, legal, actuarial, accounting, consulting, data aggregation, quality assurance and so much more.”
Physicians themselves may not be up to speed
Doctors and their staffs are, of course, the primary professionals that have to be aware of HIPAA regulations and be prepared for potential audits. This, however, doesn’t mean that they always are. According to Healthcare Dive contributor Julie Henry, recent studies show that many organizations – especially smaller ones – struggle with HIPAA compliance even if they are aware of what steps they need to take.
Medical records were much easier to protect before the increase in demand for digital files.One of the biggest sources of frustration is trying to get employees to use appropriate channels of transmission. People are accustomed to the ease of use that email provides, but this kind of platform is rarely secure enough by HIPAA standards. Those professionals that don’t understand this are likely to ignore best practices and use whatever is most convenient. In the case of email, people are generally trying to avoid using the fax machine.
Fax machines are considered archaic by countless individuals. The truth is that they are the only channel that is secure enough to trust with patient records and other related information, and as such it is still required by HIPAA. But just because faxing still has to occur for HIPAA compliance doesn’t mean that professionals are bound to aging legacy endpoints.
Updating fax services simplifies HIPAA compliance
Siloed technology is an idea best left in the past. Now that it is possible for singular endpoints like smartphones and PCs to replace several different machines, the idea of using a dedicated device is beginning to fall out of vogue. Chances are that existing fax machines represent more of an obstacle in the workflow rather than an essential asset. As such, it’s hard to get professionals to stick with them.
The business communication solutions for health care organizations include providing new assets that are both HIPAA compliant and encourage productivity through convenience. This can be accomplished by investing in online or cloud-based fax services and HIPAA-compliant technology. By converting physical fax machines to software-based interfaces, such as HIPAA compliant fax and email services, it is possible to meet the needs of the modern professional without risking a violation.
Enabling doctors to fax from mobile devices can be a huge productivity and security boost.HIPAA should be treated as the final word
Patients are the most important part of any medical facility. This is why it’s important to earn and maintain their trust. The only way to do this is to make sure that HIPAA regulations are being followed. Should an audit turn up anything otherwise, there could be disastrous results.
It’s also critical to remember that hospitals are not the only places that have to maintain HIPAA compliance. Any organization that could potentially come into contact with medical records or proof of treatment are accountable for the same liabilities as the places that provide the actual service.
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