Health care closes in on HIPAA compliance
The health care industry appears to have taken the necessary steps to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule, according to a survey conducted by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA). Sixty-two percent of the hospital-based survey respondents said their facilities are in urban areas, 22% in suburban areas, and 16% in rural areas. An important step in implementing HIPAA is educating the organization on how patients’ medical information will be handled. Staff education about HIPAA is under way. Most organizations have held one or two hours of training for the majority of their stakeholders — physicians, staff, executives, and board members. And 55% indicate their board of directors has received one to two hours; 52% indicate the same for staff; while 46% report that medical staff have received one to two hours of training and 42% of executive staff received the same.
The survey also indicates that 43% of medical staff, 30% of board of directors, 31% of staff, and 8% of executive staff have received no HIPAA privacy training. Of those responding to the survey:
- 93% said a HIPAA task force was established.
- 77% said a privacy officer was designated.
- 64% reviewed employee screening and background checking practices.
- 81% have determined the organization’s designation as a covered entity.
- 60% said a security officer was designated.
- 54% reported the privacy and security responsibilities have been assigned to one individual.
(To see HCCA’s survey, go to www.hcca-info.org.)
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