HIPAA Audits to Accelerate Compliance

The mandate for the Department of Health and Human Services or HHS that comes under the patronage or sponsorship of the 2009 HITECH or Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, will lead audits from time to time that ensure HIPAA compliance, audits of security compliance and privacy should be accounted for by all covered entities that come under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Involving a three-step process, the pilot audit program should adhere to the protocols of the audit followed by testing of protocols with the results of the first audit that will display the process of how the rest of audits will be conducted and the final management of the complete range of audits will be done by utilizing the altered protocol data.  

Under the sponsorship the 2009 HITECH or Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act has also mandated the Department of Health and Human Services or HHS to ensure HIPAA compliance with stipulated audits. The covered entities will have to host an on-site visit as well as furnish the necessary documentation. The Office for Civil Rights or OCR will conduct the pilot program with the first round of audits which will emphasize education and awareness more than subjecting the covered entities to penalties. The Department of Health and Human Services or HHS will contribute the best practices gleaned from the process of auditing which will be completed by December 2012 and clear up any deficiencies that are found with guidance and support.

Any of the covered entities that exhibit glaring noncompliance would have to go through payment of penalties and investigations. According to Adam H. Greene who is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Davis Wright Tremaine and who originally worked at the OCR has focused his practice on HIPAA compliance says, “I don't expect too many, if any, covered entities to come out of this audit-proof. Some segments [of covered entities] are fully aware of the audits, but others - like small medical practices - are not aware. There are a lot of covered entities that are unprepared for an outside audit”. Joseph Lazzarotti, a partner at Jackson Lewis in White Plains, N.Y., agreed saying, "In my view, no-one is 100 percent compliant", he said. With regulations being updated or added frequently and the technology constantly changing, the ground of compliance is always shifting and it is hard to keep up”.

For more information, visit http://www.usmedicaltranscriptionservice.com/ or call 1-800-723-4308