The COVID-19 pandemic brought a drastic change in people’s lives and the business world. Even healthcare technology witnessed major advancements like telehealth, virtual medical assistance, and automated medical apps and software. Although, the transformation of the healthcare industry is running successfully, however, protecting compliance regulations is a bit concerning for healthcare organizations. And true to that, healthcare service providers and patients are not exempted from any compliances or regulations.
US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) mentions that medical services suppliers and different entities managing protected health information (PHI) should move to modernized tasks, including:
They should prioritize HIPAA consistency all the time. While integrating HIPAA guidelines with advanced technology provides expanded proficiency and versatility, they also improve the security of medical infrastructure against cybercriminals.
The HIPAA privacy norms address the utilization and disclosure of people's well-being (health) data (known as "ensured well-being data") by substances subject to the privacy rule. These people and associations are designated "covered elements."
There are some security measures that should be maintained to protect HIPAA compliance.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers used remote communication technologies to communicate with patients and provide telehealth services.
During this time, health care professionals relied on any non-public facing remote communication product to provide telehealth services to patients using audio or video communication technology such as Apple FaceTime, Google Hangouts video, or Skype. When using such tools, providers should inform patients that these third-party applications may pose a privacy risk, and when employing such applications, they should use all available encryption and privacy options.
Healthcare providers encounter cyber-security and HIPAA issues when working from homes such as phishing emails, security breaches during video conferencing, and data breaches. Consider the following suggestions for keeping patient data private and secure while working from home:
The HIPAA guidelines on remote patient monitoring affect healthcare organizations or any doctor who provides online counseling to their patients. HIPAA privacy rule implies direct communication of doctor and patient remotely. Most people think that the communication between remote patients and doctors is acceptable, but it is only possible when they follow HIPAA guidelines
Sometimes when doctors want to provide HIPAA compliant telehealth services, it is expensive as well as complicated. Some organizations like Microsoft offer Skype for business, which is a HIPAA-compliant tool.
While evaluating video conferencing tools, people consider factors like screen sharing capabilities, recording capabilities, the maximum number of persons attending the meeting, and the maximum duration.
Today, around 1 billion patients are attending telemedical appointments. Due to this, HIPAA compliance video conferencing tools are an urgent need in the healthcare industry.
Some of the HIPAA compliant video conferencing software are:
These tools help to improve the entire telemedicine experience and meet security standards. Also, these HIPAA compliant video tools help with different functionalities like providing assistance with scheduling appointments, providing medical advice, and doing regular checkups.
In order to ensure that you are HIPAA compliant, follow the below-mentioned practices:
One of the most important aspects of this rule is the notice of privacy practices. Covered entities like health plans and healthcare clearninghouses must be created and updated as this document helps patients to stay informed about how their personal information is being used.
We at QASource follow the practices mentioned below to ensure that the client data is safe and secure while assuring that we adhere to HIPAA compliances:
QASource ensures VPN security by utilizing a strong conceivable verification strategy. Every VPN connection has its unique IP, username, and code.
QASource improves its encryption strategy for VPN access and uses only an official VPN. Use of public networks on official work computers is prohibited. We ensure our system is fully patched and updated before connecting to clients' VPN/remote network.
IT generally knows what's happening. For instance, assuming somebody attempts to save/install/run any software, an organization-possessed PC should prompt them to get in touch with IT. In the event they endeavor to get to records, they don't have any permission for, logs should be made following that entrance back to a particular client record and gadget.
QASource ensures the below-mentioned system security measures:
IT -banned items
Hardware Security
NDAs commonly cover points like "safeguarding delicate data," including things like innovations your organization is creating and the names of its clients, as well as "disclosure of secret data to anybody outside the organization."
HIPAA protects the confidentiality of protected health information (PHI) and we must comply with HIPAA.
QASource as an organization has the objective to guarantee that all stored and transmitted patient data remains secure, confidential, and accurate. This rule applies to a wide range of digital information, including electronic health records, cancer reports, lab data information, waybills, and test results. It doesn't matter if a doctor is accessing the lab tests from a mobile or has a remote video conference with patients, the system is following HIPAA guidelines for information security. To know whether you are following HIPAA practices when developing software or mobile applications, contact QASource now..