The advent of computer filing systems has greatly simplified the process of recording and storing patient records in dental offices. However, this convenience does not come without a potential cost. Every day, dentists across the country face the threat of hacking, ransomware and other threats to cybersecurity. And even in the absence of these active [...]
Having Dental Malpractice Insurance is important, but it doesn’t cover fines and penalties for not following current legislation and laws. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 by US Congress to protect patient data with a set of established procedures that every profession must follow. If you have protected health [...]
The HIPAA Act contains two sections, which includes the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA Security Rule. The privacy rule contains Federal protection against personal health information (PHI) while the security rule requires businesses such as offices and professionals like dentists to protect electronic personal health information (ePHI). The HIPAA Privacy Rule The [...]
HIPAA is Federal legislation, which means that you should thoroughly understand the details and ensure that you’re in compliance. Your dental malpractice insurance does not cover fines and penalties for HIPAA violations, but the insurer does have to abide by them just like you. In addition, Federal audits and enforcement are robust and highly active. [...]
With HIPAA, there are really no exceptions to the rules, except in a few circumstances. Other than that, all states must utilize the HIPAA rules and regulations. If the state’s rules and regulations exceed HIPAA’s patient protection policies, then they generally receive precedence over the HIPAA rules. For instance, a state requires doctors to obtain [...]
Since the sharing of patient information is restricted to specific allowances, it can be confusing. But in short terms, it is usually when the patient is at risk of harm to themselves or others, as well as subpoena and judgement orders that require specific patient information, such as an X-ray of the patient’s teeth or [...]
The most important strategy to staying HIPAA compliant involves creating a routine HIPAA compliance program. This program will analyze potential risks and identify key areas of need. Since HIPPA laws can change, it is important to routinely pull out your compliance program and ensure that your office complies. There are three main components that your [...]
