#AUTO TEXT EXPANDER HIPAA VIOLATIONS PROFESSIONAL#
This can be easier said than done in close-knit communities, but asking a medical professional about a friend can lead to a breach as well. Keep these conversations with friends and family to a minimum as well to avoid sharing PHI. Employees should be mindful of where they’re discussing topics about patients and who they’re discussing it with, even around the watercooler at work. Violations aren’t limited to what gets posted on the internet, however. One of the best and simplest ways to prevent this is to ensure all employees are aware of the HIPAA policies in place to prevent the sharing of PHI. Without proper documented consent, you’re compromising that patient’s protection. Never post a photo of a patient without written consent. But, when it comes to HIPAA, there are some precautions that must be taken.
Many of us take pictures and post regularly as part of our default setting, not considering the content making its way onto the internet. Social media is thoroughly ingrained in everyday life. Department of Health and Human Services website at Social Media To learn about proper disposal methods, you can visit the U.S. Consider working with a secure document shredding company. Proper steps should be taken to ensure PHI is disposed of properly. Ensure that they are filed and locked away to prevent records from falling into the wrong hands.Īt some point, you will have a need to dispose of some records, either because they are outdated or you’re transitioning to digital storage. Don’t leave medical records out in the open. It’s important to remember how easy it is to misplace a document and how difficult it can be to pin down who has accessed it.
With all the talk of cyberattacks, one might think that keeping all patient records as hard copy could limit exposure. Check out these tips from our affiliate company, and leading HIPAA compliance experts, The van Halem Group. However, there four other common violations that fail to make the headlines but are potentially as devastating as experiencing a cyberattack. Yes, it’s true that the health care industry is the number one target for cyberattacks, and you should use the technology and resources available to you in order to secure your patients’ data. Do a quick search of recent HIPAA violations, and you’ll find headlines proclaiming multi-million dollar settlements for breaches resulting in the loss of hundreds, thousands, or even millions of patient records.