Every healthcare provider must meet the requirements laid out by HIPAA, also known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This legislation dictates how healthcare providers must handle patient information to ensure privacy and security. Though the bill was signed into law in 1996, it has been adapted over the years to keep up with technological advances and streamlined processes in the healthcare industry.
So, how can you be HIPAA compliant in 2020? Is there a HIPAA audit checklist template for your business? And finally, what are the most important factors when developing your own HIPAA privacy checklist? Read on to find out how to make a HIPAA checklist for 2020 and beyond:
HIPAA Checklist For 2020 Compliance
NIST, or the National Institute of Standards and Technology, helps advise healthcare providers on the latest compliance regulations. There are three primary rules that you can find on the NIST HIPAA checklist for 2020 compliance:
- HIPAA Privacy Rule – This rule dictates that all healthcare and service providers must ensure the privacy of every patient. More specifically, patients have the right to authorize the disclosure of their health records, request a copy of their records, and request corrections to their records.
- HIPAA Security Rule – This rule is technically an addition to the Privacy Rule. Under the HIPAA Security Rule, healthcare providers must apply technical, physical, and administrative safeguards to electronically protected health information (ePHI).
- HIPAA Breach Notification Rule – Finally, in the event of a data breach, healthcare providers must have certain security protocols in place. More specifically, healthcare providers must disclose breaches of PHI to the affected individuals and the Department of Health and Human Services.
HIPAA Self Audit Checklist
While the NIST HIPAA checklist will provide you with general guidelines to ensure compliance, it won’t give you a specific checklist to do a self-audit. In order to get you started, here are a few steps you can take to meet HIPAA standards:
Technical Requirements
While there are no specific requirements for technical equipment, the most important factor is data security. This means that you will need devices and software that have up-to-date security features. A HIPAA compliant phone system is one great way to protect PHI from data breaches.
Security Protocol Requirements
Updated devices and software are useless without a comprehensive data security strategy. This means that you must have a plan to encrypt data transfers, limit access to sensitive information, and limit the damage caused by a breach. A comprehensive data security strategy begins with an analysis of potential security threats. This can either be done in-house or through a managed service provider.
Creating Your Own HIPAA Checklist
Every healthcare provider has unique circumstances. As a result, you may want a HIPAA checklist catered to meet your specific needs. Thankfully, you can easily create your own checklist with the help of the NIST HIPAA Resource Guide. Additionally, you can find a HIPAA audit checklist template right here.
We hope you found this guide useful! If you’d like to learn more about HIPAA compliance regulations, consult the Department of Health and Human Services website today!