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Briefings on HIPAA

Issue 12, December 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Unscramble encryption terminology, process before setting up system

  If you want privacy on a hospital corridor, you step aside where no one can see or hear you. When...

• HIPAA in the waiting room: Extend compliance to safeguard your facility

  Patient waiting rooms are an extension of physician practices, treatment centers, healthcare...

• Services, electronic transactions determine ALF HIPAA requirements

  Some assisted living facilities (ALF) need to comply with HIPAA regulations, some don't. But all...

• Watch for three critical problems that can derail risk analysis

  Experienced project managers may already know that the potential for problems exists, and some...

• Q&A: Tips for security rule readiness

  By Kevin Beaver, CISSP With the HIPAA security rule deadline drawing near, it's time to make...

Issue 11, November 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Mayo's single sign-on success story

  When the Mayo Clinic information technology (IT) team rolled out its single sign-on system in 2001...

• Security best practice: Smart cards improve care, comply with HIPAA

  Passwords on sticky notes, shared passwords, and work stations that remain logged on all day...

• Save info, review systems to protect against breaches and save your facility

  Thirty-one percent of healthcare providers, payers, and clearinghouses reported that their...

• Keep HIPAA retraining fresh

  Eyes glazed over. Notebooks full of doodles. The phrase "in one ear and out the other" epitomized...

Issue 10, October 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Open new gateways to HIPAA-compliant communications

  As information travels along the Internet's pathways, hackers attack like highway bandits...

• Don't overlook the obvious-the mistake could cost your organization

  Noncompliance with the "little things" can significantly add up and keep your hands full...

• Assess your risk before problems crop up

  The confidentiality of your patients' information could be at risk without your knowing it. HIPAA...

• HIPAA privacy rule hinders academic research

  Healthcare administrators and clinicians directly involved in patient care struggled mightily to...

Issue 9, September 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Employ help desks, hotlines to handle HIPAA complaints

  The HIPAA privacy rule requires that covered entities create a system to handle privacy complaints...

• Audit your facility to check for privacy and security compliance

  One in five healthcare providers is not yet 100% compliant with HIPAA privacy regulations...

• Don't get caught in a bind when releasing deidentified PHI

  Any covered entity that plans to disclose health information for use without the constraints of...

• Evade vulnerability by managing vendor access to PHI

  Any time a vendor is on your premises, you put patients' PHI at risk. The responsibility of...

• Hold the phone until you know who's on the other end

  When a patient's husband called to double-check the time of her dental appointment, the...

• Make organizational standards part of your training

  The final HIPAA security regulations include requirements for interactions between covered entities...

Issue 8, August 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Thinking of applying for your privacy or security credential?

  With HIPAA requiring all healthcare providers to establish privacy and security officer...

• Clergy can provide spiritual guidance and comply with HIPAA regulations

  The involvement of priests, rabbis, and ministers in the healing process can be invaluable for some...

• Create a policy for laptops, portable devices with protected health information

  Improper disclosures happen. A theft at the University of California, Los Angeles' (UCLA) Blood...

• Q&A: Key elements of solid incident procedures

  The HIPAA security rule defines a security incident as "the attempted or successful unauthorized...

• Privacy Primer: Understand HIPAA security technical standards

  The HIPAA security regulations establish general technical standards that allow each covered entity...

Issue 7, July 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Look beyond encryption when deciding how to secure e-mail

  Both the privacy and security regulations require facilities to protect patients' electronic PHI...

• Troubleshoot security efforts to make sure you're on the right track

  Thanks to the security language in the HIPAA privacy rule, many organizations took steps toward...

• Protect patient data with facility security plan

  You must adapt policies and procedures to safeguard your facility and equipment from unauthorized...

• Q&A: Penalties, accounting of PHI disclosures, volunteers and training....

  Editor's note: Kate Borten, CISSP, CISM, is president and founder of The Marblehead Group, Inc., in...

Issue 6, June 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Accounting for disclosures, visitors still raise compliance questions

  A common misconception in accounting for disclosures is that facilities must include inappropriate...

• Medical center increases security of PHI with monitoring software

  Purchasing software for an entire organization is a large investment. But at DeKalb Medical Center...

• Researchers are adapting to HIPAA, but still encounter some road blocks

  The privacy rule initially dragged down the pace of research as organizations learned how to...

• 'Workstation' definition covers more than just PCs

  HIPAA defines "workstation" as an electronic computing device, such as a laptop or desktop...

• CMS tightens screws on HIPAA claims process

  On July 6, the Medicare program will begin to tighten the screws on HIPAA's claims-submission...

Issue 5, May 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Don't get caught in a tug of war between JCAHO, HIPAA rules

  When it comes to rules and regulations about privacy and security, what's the difference between...

• If it ain't broke, don't fix it: Use existing tools for monitoring

  Employing existing tools can be the key to successfully monitoring HIPAA compliance, attendees at...

• Relentless effort makes mitigation a success

  Defining and organizing mitigation efforts remains an overlooked aspect of most privacy programs...

• AHIMA celebrates HIPAA's birthday with survey

  Most birthday parties are celebrated with cake and ice cream. But the American Health Information...

• Address administrative safeguards in your HIPAA security training, Part I

  The final HIPAA security regulations establish administrative standards each covered entity must...

Issue 4, April 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• When disaster strikes: Create contingency plans for emergencies

  It's not enough that security officers have to worry about the possibility of disasters, both...

• Six tips for whipping BA contracts into shape before April deadline

  You're not stuck in a time warp: It's a new year and April 14 is a red-letter day for healthcare...

• A privacy officer's mandate

  Before you disband your HIPAA compliance team, make sure you have designated a privacy officer who...

• Ensure compliance with HIPAA's transactions standards

  HIPAA's transactions standards offer healthcare organizations significant benefits, including...

• Sell upper managers on HIPAA security

  One of the most difficult tasks a person in charge of HIPAA security-rule compliance will face when...

Issue 3, March 15, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How people learn: Improve training with elements of adult education

  There are four critical elements of adult learning, says Lise Roberts, vice president of HCCS...

• Transactions: How are you coping five months after compliance deadline?

  It's been five months now and industry sources still say less than half of providers are sending...

• Claims-attachment NPRM is coming this spring

  With the imminent release of the noticed of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the claims attachment...

• How to save money by avoiding unnecessary claim rejections

  There are problems on the providers' side and the payers' side, Hardin says. Many healthcare...

• Plan now for training program on HIPAA security

  The final HIPAA security regulations, released February 13, 2003, respond to the voluminous...

Issue 2, February 12, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The ICD-10 codes are coming sooner than you may think

  Your reprieve from having to comply with the transactions and code sets (TCS) rule is almost over...

• How to protect medical records without shutting out families

  Consider the following scenario: Chris Fowler was on a much-needed winter vacation when she...

• Caring for your colleagues: Do you need to take extra precautions when employees

  Tucson (AZ) Medical Center is a 600-bed acute care hospital with a self-funded health insurance...

• Protecting yourself and your security risk assessment

  The list of educational and health care enterprises embarrassed by having electronic protected...

• Privacy Primer: Train staff on HIPAA administrative requirements

  Previous Privacy Primers have touched on record keeping and other administrative tasks the HIPAA...

Issue 1, January 13, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• JCAHO rings in the New Year with IM standard revisions

  In its revised information management (IM) standards for 2004, the Joint Commission on...

• Who really needs to sign a business agreement? Not everybody

  When the HIPAA privacy regulations first went into effect in 2003, covered entities thought they...

• Privacy rule makes no waves for lawyers to surf

  A year or two ago, observers assumed that HIPAA's privacy standards would unleash waves of...

• Master the JCAHO's new IM standards

  Master the JCAHO's new IM standards

• How to help your staff understand accounting for disclosures of PHI-Part II

  The HIPAA privacy regulations give individuals the right to receive an accounting of certain...