Five big mistakes for EMS personnel to avoid making
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, February 16, 2004
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Five big mistakes for EMS personnel to avoid making
HIPAA compliance presents as many problems for emergency medical service (EMS) personnel as it does for other covered entities, according to an article in the January issue of Fire Engineering Magazine. The magazine narrowed down the nature of compliance obstacles to five main areas, as follows:
1--Ignorance and apathy. Some EMS personnel have either never heard of HIPAA or don't think it applies to them. These individuals should peruse the Office for Civil Rights Web site, talk to their peers, and start developing a compliance plan soon.
2--Relying on laypersons. You should rely instead on recognized HIPAA authorities.
3--Borrowing other organizations' compliance plans. Anything you borrow will have to be revised to meet your department's needs.
4--Relying on one-size-fits-all HIPAA compliance kits. Use these products as a starting point, and then use them to develop your own program.
5--Leaving compliance up to your billing unit. You can farm out some compliance duties to units within your department or to third parties, but ultimate compliance responsibility rests with you.
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