What You Should Know About HIPAA Guidelines for the Medical Office

You can go to jail for violating HIPAA laws. It's happened before and it'll happen again. In one recent case, a former autism treatment center employee was convicted of stealing the protected health information (PHI) of 300 current and former…

What Exactly Qualifies as a HIPAA Covered Entity?

Does your staff think HIPAA is a strange type of undiscovered animal? Or do they understand the significance of this law and how it can affect your medical practice? A HIPAA covered entity is an agency that handles protected health information.…

The History of HIPAA: How This Act Came to Be

When you think of HIPAA, you probably think of patient privacy and confidentiality. And that is a major part of the legislation. It dictates who can and cannot talk about your care, with whom they can talk about it, and how much they are allowed…

What Is the Minimum Necessary Rule In HIPAA?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) exists to protect patient information and keep their most personal details private. It places limits on sharing between providers and contractors and sets a standard for cybersecurity…

The Worst Healthcare Data Breaches of 2017 (And What We Can Learn From Them)

Every story has a lesson, and every failure is a chance to grow. In 2017, medical practices experienced a horrific year of failure. If you're in the medical field, it's vital to understand how data breaches affect your company and your patients.…

Medical Practices Beware: Common Cyber Security Attacks in Healthcare

The healthcare industry is attacked by cybercriminals twice as much as other industries. The sector is particularly vulnerable due to its large cyber surface. Networks include everything from doctors offices and clinics to connected medical…

What is Protected Health Information? A Complete Guide

You've probably heard of HIPAA and its PHI component, or Protected Health Information. What it is exactly might still be a bit of a mystery to you. HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It was signed into effect…

HIPAA Training Requirements: 7 Common Questions Answered

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a piece of legislation that was passed in 1996. It offers patients a wide variety of protections in regard to their health information. The pressure HIPAA puts on medical professionals…

What Happens if You Violate HIPAA?

You've heard of HIPAA laws, and you know it's wrong to violate them. But do you know what happens if you violate HIPAA? A HIPAA violation is a serious situation, and there are many different forms it can take. If the laws get violated, you…

How to Get a HIPAA Certification

Does your company need to be HIPAA compliant? If you're in the health industry or do business with healthcare organizations and have access to protected health information (PHI), you're required to comply with HIPAA rules. Failure to do so…

What to Do When Your Clinic Gets Ransomware

One of the worst things your company can hear is that ransomware has attacked your organization. The amount of ransomware in healthcare has only increased over time. The attackers are changing their targets to form the expertly defended…

6 Reasons Your Staff Needs to Be Up to Date on HIPAA

While many of us take our privacy for granted, HIPAA laws don't and can result in fines up to $1.5 million in a year. Even if you have a secure facility, you need to make sure that your patients and their information are protected. Make sure…

Top 10 Benefits of Dedicated IT Support Services

Are you looking for a way to increase the information technology security in your medical office? Dedicated IT support services are an effective way to make your office more secure. After all, the Ponemon Institute reports that data breaches…

Here’s A Checklist to Help Prepare for HIPAA Audits

HIPAA has been the law of the land since 1996. The Privacy and Security rules are also now over a decade old. That means there's little leeway when healthcare organizations make mistakes or fail to maintain standards set out by the law. If…

Why You Need a HIPAA Security Breach Response Team

It's more common nowadays for patients to use technology at the doctors. Today, healthcare providers use electronic sign-in forms and databases more than ever. The advancement of technology has certainly made things easier for doctors and patients.…

8 Common HIPAA Compliance Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services received 21,381 HIPAA complaints in 2016. How can you make sure your organization isn't included in that statistic? It can be hard to know if you're covering all your bases. That's why we…