What does HIPAA Compliance have in store for 2020?

HIPAA has been around for over two decades, and in that time the landscape has changed drastically, with the threats evolving and becoming more threatening each year. That fact won’t change in 2020… so what should you do to be prepared?

A few key terms and risks to be aware of:

●     National Patient Identifier

●     Increased Compliance Requirement

●     Non-Compliancy on Social Media

Let’s dig into these a bit more…

National Patient Identifier

One of the most talked-about trends of 2020 is the National Patient Identifier.

The American Health Information Management Association has recently proposed and shown support for the development of some sort of national patient identifier.

Seems like a great plan, right? Not everyone thinks so…. the aggressive objections to the implementation of an NPI are coming from politicians, such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky and several other industry leaders. Paul introduced a repeal act of the NPI in Congress recently because he argues that the national identifier would threaten patient privacy. The opposing experts say that his arguments are without sound research and do not align with the current reality of healthcare data needs.

Whether you agree with Paul or discredit his research and ideas, there has been approval for healthcare identifiers for Medicare beneficiaries and went into effect on January 1, 2020.

Increased Compliance Requirements

As we were talking about previously, the landscape of HIPAA is changing drastically. Not only are the hacks increasing and the threats multiplying, but the compliance requirements are changing to ensure additional patient protection against the aggressive growth of these threats. Need hard stats to show proof of rapidly growing threats? Here are a few: “After a record-breaking year of recovery of over $28 million, the OCR started 2019 with a $3 million settlement related to two breach incidents.” As compliance requirements grow, you have to be prepared to grow with them and protect your business at a new, more aggressive level.

In addition to the OCR increasing their requirements, the State Attorney’s General is taking a stand for their affected residents, and are taking to suing companies that aren’t compliant or stand to be a THREAT.

Non-Compliancy on Social Media

“Social media is a conversation, if you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it on social.”

With the growth of social media and the addition of new social platforms everyday, many businesses are trying to keep up with every platform, without placing a primary focus on maintaining their risk and responsibilities when it comes to HIPAA Compliance.

While it is rarely the CEO tweeting non-compliant information, the key way to combat the ever-growing trend of social media non-compliancy with HIPAA is proper employee training and education. Many companies don’t place a priority on making sure their entire office runs at the most compliant capacity, from employees to devices and software.

A few action items to take from this blog:

• Limit organization publication on social platforms to those who have been formally trained.
• NEVER EVER directly publish any patient information. This includes photos.
• Make sure to use the appropriate NPI’s when speaking with a patient. (The organization will inform staff of which NPI’s are approved and should be used)
• Take a look at your tech, software and security set up to be sure your business is as compliant as possible in 2020, and ready to attack any potential threats, as well as grow with the industry and compliance changes.

Another way to be sure you are compliant and able to face the new challenges in HIPAA head on…

Work with a professional that stays up to date with compliance guidelines, software and tech changes and what things your business needs to combat them. If you’re spending time focusing on HIPAA, that is time lost that you could be spending focusing on your business, and can leave you with not only a headache but gaps in your compliance and vulnerable threats for you and your clients.

Want a trusted professional to assess how prepared your business is to face challenges in  2020? We’d love to help. Contact us today for a free assessment.