If you are a physician or healthcare provider, you know your patient data is one of your most valuable assets. It contains sensitive and personal information that you need to provide quality and efficient care to your patients. However, it also exposes you to various risks, such as data breaches, cyberattacks, or human errors that can compromise patient data’s confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
That’s why you need to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), a federal law that sets national standards for the protection of health information. HIPAA compliance is not only a legal obligation, but also a way to build trust and loyalty with your patients, who expect you to respect their privacy and keep their data secure.
In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of HIPAA compliance for healthcare organizations and how a reliable and robust electronic health records (EHR) platform can help you achieve and maintain it.
Why is HIPAA Compliance Important?
HIPAA compliance is important because it ensures that you protect your patient data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, while also allowing you to share it smoothly and securely with other healthcare providers, health plans, or healthcare clearinghouses. HIPAA compliance also gives your patients increased rights and control over their health information.
As stated by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HIPAA compliance involves three main aspects:
- Privacy: You must respect the privacy of your patients and obtain their consent before using or disclosing their health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, or healthcare operations.
- Security: You must implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your patient data from threats, such as loss, theft, damage, or corruption, especially when it is stored or transmitted electronically.
- Breach Notification: You must notify your patients, the HHS, and in some cases, the media, if you discover a breach of your patient data that affects more than 500 individuals.
HIPAA compliance is not only a matter of ethics but also of law. If you fail to comply with HIPAA, you may face severe consequences, such as fines, penalties, lawsuits, or even criminal charges. According to the HHS, the fines for HIPAA violations can range from $100 to $50,000 per violation, depending on the level of negligence, and up to $1.5 million per year for repeated violations. Moreover, you may also lose your reputation and credibility as a healthcare provider, and damage your relationship with your patients and partners.
The Easiest Way To Stay HIPAA Compliant: Using an EHR Platform
An EHR platform is a software system that allows you to create, update, and access your patient records electronically, instead of using paper files or charts. Additionally, an EHR platform can offer many benefits for your healthcare practice, such as:
- Improving the quality and efficiency of your patient care, by reducing errors, duplication, and delays
- Facilitating communication and coordination among your colleagues, patients, and other stakeholders, by enabling secure and instant data exchange
- Streamlining your billing, coding, and claims processing, by automating and integrating your financial functions
- Generating reports and analytics, by providing you with data-driven insights and feedback
Nevertheless, not all EHR platforms are created equal. Some may not meet the standards and requirements of HIPAA compliance, or may not provide you with the features and functionality you need to run your practice smoothly and effectively. That’s why you need to choose an EHR platform that is not only powerful and versatile but also secure and compliant. That’s where ProbityCare comes in.
How Does Probity Care Ensure Data Security and HIPAA Compliance?
Probity Care is not only a powerful and versatile EHR platform but also a secure and compliant one. Probity Care adheres to the highest standards of data security and HIPAA compliance, by implementing the following measures:
- Encryption: Probity Care encrypts your data both at rest and in transit, using the latest encryption algorithms and protocols, to prevent unauthorized access or interception.
- Authentication: Probity Care requires you to use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, to verify your identity and prevent unauthorized access to your account and data.
- Authorization: Probity Care allows you to set granular and role-based permissions, to control who can access, view, edit, or delete your data, and for what purposes.
- Audit: Probity Care logs and tracks all the activities and transactions on your account and data, to provide you with a complete and transparent record of who did what, when, and why.
- Backup: Probity Care backs up your data regularly and automatically, to ensure that you can recover your data in case of any loss, damage, or corruption.
- Update: Probity Care updates its software and hardware regularly and automatically, to ensure that you always have the latest features, functionality, and security patches.
How to Get Started with Probity Care?
Getting started with Probity Care is easy and fast. You can sign up for a free trial, and explore the platform and its features with no obligation or commitment. You can also request a demo, and get a personalized and guided tour of the platform, with a Probity Care representative. To sign up for a free trial or request a demo, visit ProbityCare today.
Keeping your patient data secure and compliant with HIPAA is not only a legal requirement but also a moral duty. Platforms such as ProbityCare can help you fulfill that duty, by providing you with a secure and compliant EHR platform that also enhances your productivity and quality of care.
