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How HIPAA are you?

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, June 2, 2004

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Although the compliance deadline for the HIPAA security rule is still almost a year away, the healthcare industry remains significantly non-compliant, according to a report released by the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC).

The report, An Assessment of HIPAA Security Preparedness, identified key stumbling blocks that hamper compliance with the HIPAA rule and offered some advice for overcoming the challenges. URAC identified the following compliance barriers:

* Incomplete or inappropriately scoped risk analysis efforts. Ask whether your healthcare organization understands whether or not patient data is at risk of compromise on your systems.
* Inconsistent and poorly executed risk management strategies. Ask whether your organization actively addresses the technical issues and employee practices that affect security.
* Limited or faulty information system activity review. Ask whether your organization actively collects data on how your systems and employees are performing.
* Ineffective security incident reporting and response. Ask whether your organization can detect when patient data has been compromised or stolen by an unauthorized person.

To learn more about the barriers to HIPAA compliance, the report is available at www.urac.org.

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