Seven Steps for HIPAA Compliance

The healthcare profession now has just six months left to comply with HIPAA’s security regulations, and two experts are warning companies who haven’t begun their compliance efforts not to delay any longer.

In an article for Healthcare Financial Management magazine, lawyer Lynda M. Johnson and human resource specialist Joanna D. Schulte, outline seven steps healthcare firms can take to comply with the new regulations. They say the HIPPA regulations, “require healthcare organizations to apply reasonable and appropriate safeguards and controls to protect electronic health information.”

Johnson and Schulte’s seven steps are:

1. Study the security regulations to determine adequate levels of security for each organization.
2. Establish a security committee and appoint an information security officer.
3. Identify existing security measures within the organization, including administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.
4. Conduct a thorough risk analysis.
5. Develop and implement remediation plans.
6. Adequately train the workforce.
7. Periodically review these compliance activities.

To read the full recommendations, click here: http://www.hfma.org/publications/HFM_Magazine/cover.htm