Protect Your PHIs With These Tips

Here are three reminders which will help you ensure you’re starting 2010 with your privacy program on the right foot.

Healthcare providers should not throw PHI, more so your paper, into the trash. You may think of patient privacy exclusively in terms of protecting electronic patient data, but paper files are also likely to be compromised in the same manner.

In fact, even if we can move to 50 or 60 percent of medical practices going electronic in the coming few years, paper elimination is a long way off. As such, you should ensure any PHI stored on paper in your office is secure.

In fact, even before the HITECH Act came into being, practices were always advised to handle PHI securely, whether on paper or stored electronically.

Secondly, you should make it a point to know that patients are aware. The HITECH Act imposed an affirmative obligation on the government agency overseeing the HIPAA program to investigate compliance breaches. Earlier it was driven by complaints only, but now they have an obligation to affirmatively audit and monitor.

Don’t Forget the Front You may be compromising patient data in other ways besides electronic and paper breaches. Perform a walkthrough in your practice or organization to ensure that no other leaks exist.

The government on its part has been hiring people to ensure compliance and will be providing education programs to the public. And we’re expecting a lot of awareness and for patients to be asking more questions about the use of their private health information going forward.

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Author: Jaun Paul
Article Source: EzineArticles.com