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Tip: Get your 'board' on board

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, February 16, 2009

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Have an idea that needs support from your board of directors? Start by being open, honest, and visible.

Depending on your organization, you may or may not have any communication with hospital board members. You may have more of an indirect communication, through an intermediary, such as your executive administration.

Holly Ballam, RHIA, physician liaison and privacy officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, communicates more with her direct superiors. But she says the key is to be upfront and open through the levels of command regarding the work of the compliance program.

“If you have been upfront with your board from the beginning then they are already aware of the importance of security and privacy,” she says. “Hopefully the (Chief Information Officer, Chief Operating Officer), compliance officer, etc., have already been submitting quarterly reports stating the status of the hospital in all aspects. That gives the board a history of what is currently working and what needs to be addressed.”

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from an article that will be appearing in the March issue of the HCPro, Inc. newsletter, Briefings on HIPAA. More tips for pitching an idea to your board of directors to come in next week’s HIPAA Weekly Advisor.

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