How to Get Small Business HIPAA Compliance (Let Us Help!)
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The moment most people hear about HIPAA compliance, they assume it is only relevant to large hospital systems or big medical organizations. However, small business HIPAA compliance is, or at least should be, on our minds as well.
Organizations have a responsibility to patients and customers to maintain data security. This means that if you work with any medical service provider as a business owner, you need to focus on data documentation as well.
The struggle for a small business to be HIPAA compliant is real, but there are various ways that you can stay on top of things.
It Starts With Awareness
HIPAA compliance starts with becoming more aware of the guidelines and how you need to follow them.
You may be unaware of pending audits, not have a compliance plan in place, or not be providing HIPAA training to your staff. Additionally, you may not have the confidence that your mobile devices are HIPAA compliant.
There are a lot of tools to help you, but you have to know about them to be able to make a difference. Here are some of the first things you should do:
- Set policies and procedures
- Implement security awareness training
- Take an annual risk assessment
- Start using encryption
IT Management for HIPAA Compliance
Many small businesses aren’t as compliant as they think and this is because of not being proactive enough with IT management services.
You could be leaving your company vulnerable to a cyber-attack that could lead to a data breach. Data can be compromised internally, even if by accident.
This means that your goal needs to be to reduce the risk by having a disaster recovery plan in place. This will not only help your small business get HIPAA compliance, but also help you to protect your reputation and finances. An estimated 30 percent of businesses don’t even have a plan, and this could spell big problems for you. Data that belongs to patients need to be backed up in a secure fashion and easy to restore.
Inform Employees
Some of your employees may not know what HIPAA means or how to handle patient data properly. Even if you aren’t a healthcare provider, the same rules still apply.
There should be annual compliance training scheduled for your employees.
This will tell them what they need to do to impact data security. Courses and seminars can help you to stay in the know with best practices. Whether you send an email, create login credentials for an account, or send an attachment, you have to follow procedure.
All of your employees need to do the same, or you could end up with a violation on your hands.
Mobile HIPAA Compliance
Are your mobile devices HIPAA compliant? If you’re not confident that they are, you’re not alone.
All endpoints need protection when accessing patient data. Mobile device management (MDM) helps lock and wipe devices remotely when needed. If a device is compromised, you can wipe it clean to block access to patient data. This approach ensures you’re doing everything possible to protect sensitive information.
Navigating HIPAA compliance can frustrate small businesses. Knowing which steps to take and which services to implement often feels overwhelming.
The good news is that there are ways to simplify HIPAA compliancy as long as you focus on awareness of the issue. Everything will be easier to maintain once you have a plan in place.
For more information on how to maintain HIPAA compliance in your organization contact us.