HealthCare IT

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

If you are reading this article then you are most likely a Health Care provider looking for clarification on Health Care IT or HIPAA or HITECH. There is a ton of information available online around all of this. However, not everything you read or find is going to be correct and\or complete. Throughout our research we've found HHS.gov  to be the most reliable source of info, obviously. If you dig deep enough you will find all of your answers at HHS.gov. With that said, the information available is a lot and can be overwhelming. So we've setup this blog to simplify it and bring you to-the-point information. To the right, you will find a bunch of links categorized according to rules and regulations. We've picked the items that we believe to be good starting points for most of our clients. Here are the basics:

1. HIPAA - On August 21, 1996, congress passed a federal law - HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) requiring 'covered entities' to protect all "Individually Identifiable Health Information", later referred in the privacy rule as PHI - Protected Health Information. Please visit this HHS link  to get more details.

2. HITECH Act - On February 17, 2009 HITECH Act (Health Information Technology for Economical and Clinical Health) was enacted as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology. Please visit this HHS link  to get more details.
   

3. Is any of this mandatory or optional?
           Answer: None of this is optional. It is mandatory to comply with HIPAA when it comes to ePHI.

Note: It is possible to comply with anything if you fully understand the requirements and are willing to put the effort into it. Proper training and education on HIPAA and related laws is strongly recommended to all health care providers. 

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU:

We understand the IT requirements of Healthcare providers and the fact that these providers need IT solutions that are affordable and effective. The information you need to protect can be protected with appropriate and recommended security measures in place. We specialize in delivering such solutions and can tailor them to meet your specific needs. The most essential piece of this puzzle and a good starting point is a 'Risk Assessment'.

Risk Assessment is a deep dive into your business operation to evaluate your IT Security, vulnerabilities, potential risks and impacts to your business. According to HIPAA, there are three safeguards that must be in place to protect ePHI - Administrative, Physical and Technical. We specialize in Technical Safegaurd aspect of HIPAA. We can tell you where you stand in compliance with these Technical Safeguards, show you the gaps and help you close them.

We can start by giving you a FREE consultation. Please click here to request a free consultation now.