The Office of Civil Rights is doggedly enforcing HIPAA privacy and security requirements. Here six steps that anesthesiology practices can take to prevent breaches, according to lessons learned from the numerous breaches reported to OCR:
1. Ensure the organization’s security risk analysis and risk management plan are thorough.
2. Conduct a security evaluation when there are operational changes that could affect the security of protected health information and ensure that appropriate physical and technical safeguards remain in place during the changes.
3. Ensure protected health information that is stored and transported on portable electronic devices is properly safeguarded.
4. Implement clear policies and procedures for the proper disposal of protected health information in all forms.
5. Ensure physical safeguards are in place to limit access to facilities and workstations that maintain protected health information.
6. Ensure employees are trained on the organization’s privacy and security policies and procedures, including appropriate uses and disclosures of protected health information.
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