RISK ASSESSMENT BASICS AND DO EXPERTS HELP?

What is a HIPAA Risk Assessment?

Title II of HIPAA, known as the “Administrative Simplification provisions”, requires practices to follow a set of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans, and employers. A HIPAA Risk Assessment is a process that helps ensure that the practice is following the set of national standards. These standards cover everything from the IT side to the physical layout of the practice and to the administrative side of the practice.

Why do a HIPAA Risk Assessment?

As stated within the requirements for Meaningful Use, a practice must “conduct or review a security risk analysis and implement security updates as necessary and correct identified security deficiencies as part of its risk management process”. This means that in order to meet the requirements for Meaningful Use, your practice must conduct at least one security assessment to prove that your practice is HIPAA compliant. Your patients will feel more comfortable as well knowing that their medical records are safe with you. The cost of not being HIPAA compliant can be devastating, with a maximum penalty of $250,000 and 10 years imprisonment.

How can a partner get you prepared for an actual audit?

Technical Doctor has completed 20+ different types of risk assessments with 100% satisfaction from all of our clients. We break down every aspect of your practice and inspect every possible security flaw in your practice. After the assessment, we will provide you with documentation that proves that your practice has met all of HIPAA’s requirements as well as documentation stating what your practice needs to actively do to stay HIPAA compliant.  In the event that your practice is audited, you will have all of the documentation you need to prove that you are HIPAA compliant on hand.