HIPAA Compliance for EHR Systems Today

Passed by Congress in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) lays the foundation for who is able to retrieve or access patient medical records. Within these laws are limits on specific uses of medical records as well as the release of medical records. In addition, HIPAA compliance means that all health care providers must adhere to certain privacy and security standards. As healthcare organizations both large and small transition to EHR systems, it is absolutely critical that they maintain their HIPAA compliance.

Unfortunately, there has been a growing disparity between EHRs and HIPAA compliance in recent years, largely due to mounting misunderstandings within the health care professional community. The ability to maintain protected health information (PHI) is imperative and EHR systems provide the platform to do just that. When it comes to patient records, security is paramount. PHI refers to information that is used to identify who a patient is, outlining identifiers such as:

• Name
• Date of Birth
• Insurance Information
• Social Security Number
• Phone Number
• Photo
• Health Care Records

By nature, almost all EHR data falls into the PHI category and is thus protected under HIPAA regulation. Where the confusion often lies is that HIPAA compliancy with respect to medical records is two-fold: the healthcare organization must be HIPAA-compliant and the EHR vendor must be HIPAA-compliant.

Improved Quality of Care with a HIPAA-Compliant EHR System

As the world continued its path down the digital highway, the government established an additional safeguard called the HIPAA Security Rule, which requires electronic health information to be protected. Additional measures must be taken to secure patient data on digital platforms. Some of these extra precautions include things like:

1. Encryption: ensuring that all patient data stored in the EHR system is encrypted
2. Access Control: ensuring that only authorized users can access PHI with measures like PIN numbers and passwords
3. Audit Trail: keeping a record of who has accessed medical records as well as if and when changes were made

In addition to implementing the above three measures, the law also requires that healthcare providers inform both the patient and the Secretary of Health and Human Services if a data breach occurs. All in all, these measures are implemented in order to improve the quality of patient care. As such, partnering with a trusted, experienced, and HIPAA-compliant EHR data conversion company is essential. Whether your practice is taking medical records digital for the first time or moving to a new EHR system, HIPAA compliancy is extremely important.

At MDH Insight, we strictly adhere to all compliance requirements as determined by the HIPAA Security Rule and maintain a firm grasp on HIPAA-compliant policies and procedures to make certain that every client is compliant and protected. Take a look at the HIPAA Compliance Verification and the HIPAA Compliance Software to learn more!