HIPAA Audits In 2015— Unprepared Organizations Beware
Durham, NC (PRWEB) June 25, 2015 -- The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is ramping up their HIPAA audit program to randomly assess healthcare covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs) for compliance with the HIPAA privacy, security and breach notification rules. The HIPAA Compliance Audit program had a year of trial audits in 2012. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reviewed the results of the 2012 audit, and has started the HIPAA audit program in 2015 based on what was revealed. The weak spots shown in the 2012 are likely targets for the next round of audit questions, and HHS has sent out requests for information to 1200 covered entities and business associates to determine their suitability to be audited.
The bad news is that HIPAA rules have new higher fines, including mandatory minimum fines of $10,000 for willful neglect of compliance. HIPAA enforcement has taken on a new importance at HHS—officials have publicly stated that enforcement is now a priority, which means being ready for an audit is more important than ever.
HIPAA audits in 2015 is expected to be more practical and comprehensive as the focus is more on real-world application of HIPAA policies and procedures across the organization. Staff must know the policies and procedures and also incorporate them into daily activities, workflows and interactions with protected health information (PHI). Organizations need to take practical steps to tighten HIPAA compliance. In 2013, during the first round of HIPAA audits, only 11 percent of those organizations audited were issue free. CEs and BAs needs to be on their toes, however, preparation for potential HIPAA audits need not be complicated or costly.
HIPAA compliance expert Jim Sheldon Dean is taking an audio conference on HIPAA audit program and how it works at http://www.AudioEducator.com, where he will review the areas that caused the most issues in the 2012 audits, shed light on what kind of issues and entities had the most problems, and where entities need to improve their compliance the most.
Jim will explain the enforcement regulations and the recent changes that increase fines and create new penalty levels, including new penalties for willful neglect of compliance. He will also explore the documentation requirements for compliance and provide a framework of security policies required for HIPAA compliance.
For more information, http://www.audioeducator.com/healthcare-compliance-and-hipaa/hipaa-audits-in-2015-06-30-2015.html
About AudioEducator
AudioEducator, the country’s leading source of business-enhancing information, has been providing knowledge and training to healthcare professionals on trending industry topics for more than a decade. With an esteemed panel of industry experts, it helps professionals get information directly from the veterans and get their queries answered directly. AudioEducator specializes in audio conferences, training webinars, transcripts, DVDs on a wide array of healthcare topics like medical coding, billing, HIPAA compliance, food safety, rehab, pharma & biotech, and more.
For more information, check http://www.audioeducator.com/
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Adam K, HealthAudio LLC, http://www.audioeducator.com?utm_medium=PRWeb&utm_source=PRNEWSAE&utm_campaign=PRWEBNAE, +1 (866) 458-2965, [email protected]
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