What’s HIPAA? What’s OSHA? What’s the Difference?

April 11, 2024

Now, when you work in healthcare, you’re not only responsible for the care of patients but also a slew of compliance regulations. 

Sometimes, it can be confusing and overwhelming. The world of healthcare throws a whole lot of acronyms and regulations your way. HIPAA? OSHA? What do they mean? Well, don’t worry, this isn’t a pop quiz. We’re here to shed some light on these common compliance regulations and what they mean for your practice or business. 

HIPAA: Hip Hip Hooray for Patient Privacy

First, if you are a Covered Entity (CE) or Business Associate (BA), you have most likely heard of HIPAA. 

HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act guides how the Protected Health Information (PHI) of patients must be secure and safe. HIPAA also establishes the standards for how this sensitive health information is exchanged.

HIPAA was signed into law by Bill Clinton almost 30 years ago, in 1996.  HIPAA was established as we made major technological strides. As technology continued to advance and was making its way into healthcare, with ePHI, or electronic Protected Health Information, it was time for legislation to be put in place.  

HIPAA is composed of three key components: the Privacy Rule, the Security Rule, and the Breach Notification Rule. 

  • The Privacy Rule focuses on safeguarding PHI, giving patients rights, and providing regulations on how CEs use and disclose PHI. 
  • The Security Rule, like in the name, regulates the security standards of ePHI. This includes the necessary administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to keep this Protected Health Information safe and secure. 
  • Lastly, the Breach Notification Rule is focused on the aftermath process of a security breach. When breaches occur, affected patients, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and if applicable, state-specific entities, all need to be notified. The time frames differ depending on how many were affected by the breach. 

There is also the HIPAA Omnibus Rule of 2013, which expanded the definition of Business Associates, encompassing all that create, receive, or transport PHI on behalf of a Covered Entity. 

HIPAA regulations are enforced by the Office For Civil Rights (OCR), under the HHS. HIPAA violations can incur major monetary penalties and monitoring of a practice or business by the government. These fines can cost millions of dollars, so your practice must be HIPAA compliant! 

OSHA: Oh shucks, Little ol’ me?

With OSHA in Healthcare, we flip the script from HIPAA. 

Instead of focusing on patients, it’s about you! 

Healthcare workers and Business Associates, or under OSHA, known as third-party vendors, falling under Joint Responsibility, are protected by this federal legislation. 

OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was established when the OSH ACT was signed by Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970. The administration itself was enacted as a result of this legislation, opening April 28, 1971. This workers’ rights legislation came at a time when there were limited protections for employees, and this federal law granted protection to employees from all industries.

OSHA encompasses much more than just healthcare, providing legislation and regulation to every industry you can think of: from factories to construction sites, to even offices. 

OSHA is very prevalent in healthcare, ensuring employees feel safe and protected in their practice. For instance, common OSHA healthcare concerns include proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), handling sharps, and potential exposure to bloodborne pathogens. 

Different from HIPAA, since OSHA is an administration rather than just a law, OSHA enforces its regulations. OSHA enforcement can also cost a pretty penny: costing thousands per violation, with repeated violations going up to over $160,000. 

How Abyde Can Help

Well, that was a lot of compliance talk! 

HIPAA and OSHA are two very important compliance regulations that protect both patients and employees.

While compliance might feel like an added responsibility, it’s vital for the protection and safety of everyone. Without HIPAA and OSHA, patients’ privacy wouldn’t be protected and employees wouldn’t have safety and health standards in the workplace! 

At Abyde, we simplify the compliance process, offering HIPAA and OSHA solutions. We even make it easy. We know that this compliance jargon and rules can be stressful, so our mission is to have practices and businesses Never Stress Over Compliance Again. We offer streamlined documentation, dynamically generated for your organization. We turned the daunting Security Risk Analysis or Facility Risk Assessment for OSHA into a minutes-long questionnaire. We also provide entertaining training that equips employees with the knowledge they need. Abyde offers many more resources to keep you on your compliance A-game. 

To learn more about what you need for compliance, email us at info@abyde.com and schedule a consultation here for Covered Entities and here for Business Associates. 

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