One of the challenges many healthcare providers face is coming to a complete understanding of why they have to complete HIPAA risk assessments. There are so many different practices, policies and procedures to follow regarding HIPAA requirements, so it may seem unnecessary to do additional testing. However, the key component to a proactive IT management strategy is doing these risk assessments to determine not only whether there are any issues, but to also determine the severity of them. Here are a few tips to consider for your HIPAA risk assessments.
Conduct HIPAA Risk Assessments Frequently
The more often you conduct risk assessments, the more likely you are to be HIPAA compliant at all times. Having the best IT security services in place is important, but you still have to test them frequently. Cyber criminals are always finding new ways to hack into organizations, so leaving your organization vulnerable for even a few hours at a time could lead to some difficult and major consequences. These consequences can be easily avoided with regular risk assessments.
Use Technical, Physical and Administrative Assessments
The next question regards what types of risk assessments should be done. Some organizations believe the only assessments needed revolve around the technical side. While this may be the most vulnerable part, you also have to consider physical and administrative issues as well. Maintaining total HIPAA compliance means being completely secure in every aspect of your organization. It’s easy to think your IT security services will protect you enough, but ensuring your employees are aware of HIPAA requirements is also critical.
Take Action on Risk Assessment Results
Finally, every time you run a risk assessment, you need to take immediate action on the findings. You don’t want to provide a risk assessment report to a HIPAA auditor that doesn’t show action was taken on a potential issue. The great thing about having a provider offering 24/7 computer support is you can have these issues resolved in the background, without interrupting normal workflow. Risk assessments are important for maintaining HIPAA compliance, but they are useless without action being taken.
Single Point of Contact is here to provide any IT security services needed for healthcare organizations. We understand the complexities of HIPAA requirements and provide comprehensive services to ensure your organization will maintain compliance. Feel free to contact us at any time for more tips about HIPAA risk assessments or to learn about how our services can help you.
