Being HIPAA compliant takes a group effort from every member of your staff. If just one person takes a wrong step, the whole healthcare facility can suffer as a result. HIPAA compliance is something every facility must take seriously. If that means hiring managed security service providers to ensure you remain compliant, then it’s worth doing.
It’s not necessarily impossible to be HIPAA compliant at all times, but it does take some effort. Many times employees could commit a HIPAA violation by mistake, but other times it could be that your IT system failed. Regardless of the reason, here are some HIPAA survival tips.
Stay Current
New regulations and laws are always popping up when it comes to HIPAA compliance. Many healthcare facilities simply don’t have the resources or the staff in-house to be able to keep up with them all. But since it’s absolutely vital to stay current on these issues, managed security service providers can help companies stay up to date on all the latest rules and regulations. These providers can also send the most important updates to facilities so they can see what affects them on a day-to-day basis as they do their jobs.
Document Everything
Even if you think a piece of information may not be important, save it anyway. The best thing about some managed security services is they will update your IT software in the background without you even knowing. However, keeping a log of when updates were conducted and tests were performed could save you during a HIPAA audit. The more documentation you can provide to an auditor, the better off you’ll be.
Be Proactive
Having a proactive IT security strategy can be tough to accomplish, depending on the structure of your facility. Many in-house IT staff members wear multiple hats, so they aren’t able to focus solely on IT issues. This highlights another reason why managed service providers are so important. They work behind the scenes to help catch any issues that may slip by. They can also help you develop a proactive strategy to help keep your network secure and know exactly what to do in the event of a data breach.
Single Point of Contact is your number one source for achieving and maintaining HIPAA compliance. We provide a variety of IT security services to meet the needs of virtually any business worldwide. Be sure to contact us to see how we can help you survive in the demanding world of HIPAA compliance.
