10 Key Considerations for HIPAA Compliance and Security Service Offerings

All of dentistry, regardless of size or practice model, struggles with the challenges of HIPAA and HITECH. And if you don’t struggle, there is likely even more to be concerned about. How do you know you are on the road to compliance? Are you really as secure as you are required to be in order to protect your business and your patients’ information? Could you survive an audit?

As the loud and disorienting forces between government regulation and hacker sophistication create an uncomfortable loss of control…the dental organization, large or small, combined or corporate… is caught in the middle. Now, more than ever, this creates confusion and can mislead the IT professional working in a corporate DSO environment, all the way through to the individual clinician trying to manage his/ her own practice.

The current HIPAA security products and service offering landscape is heavily fragmented with single point solutions and lots and lots of consultants. But what if the ideal provider did exist, with a holistic solution that let you sleep at night?

10 key features for considering a HIPAA compliance and security services provider:

1. Leaders in dental and healthcare security and compliance, including:

Accomplished security professionals
Highly experienced, compliance and audit professionals
Dental Leaders and Doctors from the industry, who are leading edge in the use of technology and integration.

2. Comprehensive Risk Analysis tool which

Should not be a FREE online survey
Encompass both HIPAA Privacy and Security questions
Supports an annual reoccurrence
Incorporates comprehensive remediation plans and steps to take toward compliance and a higher level of security
Customize with phased plans, to the specific organization, scaled and prioritized to the level of importance and need

3. Privacy Policies and Procedures

Template policies, assists dental organizations in developing, adopting and implementing privacy and security policies and procedures.
Enables the collection, customization, organization and dissemination of these policies and procedures

4. Privacy and Security Awareness Training

Training tailored to the dental role and use of protected health information and offered annually with updated policies and procedures
Training is logged and graded

5. Supports and adopts breach protocols

Provides the dental organization with a step by step pathway for investigating and remediating breaches

6. Helps Manage Business Associates Agreements

Provides standard templates, BAAs as required by law, for all businesses and subcontractors that come into contact with a patient’s personal health information
Provides a mechanism to keep agreements archived and current per the latest HIPAA requirements and rules

7. Identifies risks and vulnerabilities

Performs periodic vulnerability scanning
Provides an online system evaluation and benchmarking tools

8. Provide 24/7 security monitoring

Watches security network health in real-time
Have “eyes on your network” collecting and analyzing internal and external network traffic for hostile activity.
Captures historical data in the event of a breach
Displays real-time and historical reports, creating an awareness of how your systems are being used

9. Assist and Support in the event of a Breach or Audit

Provider must supply appropriate action plan in the event of a breach or audit
Acts as a strategic partner in a critical time of need

10. Demonstrates a pledge to patients and partners with a “Best in Class” Seal

Demonstrates resolve and commitment
Provides a means to differentiate from other providers

We at Data Guardian Pros – DSO and Special Markets have achieved all this as a single provider. Join us as we build our network of dental organizations committed to being HIPAA compliant and protecting PHI in this world of cyber threats.

For more information, visit www.dataguardianpros.com or call 925-788-6600. View original article here.

Sponsored Content, Renata Jabuka, RDH, BS