April 8, 2024 It’s Monday! Here’s to the beginning of another awesome week of taking care of patients or running your business! Today, we’re starting the week off with some reflection. While the monetary component of fines is no laughing matter; there’s something even more important than money when it comes to violating compliance standards: eroding personal ethics. Think about it – wouldn’t you rather be known for your integrity and trustworthiness? Not just for avoiding fines, but for doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do? Your character is what people remember, in business and out. Make it one you’re proud of! HIPAA: Much More Than a Law Many take an oath when you join the medical field as a healthcare worker. This oath details a core principle: first, do no harm. Now, securing a patient’s data might not be the first thing someone thinks of as protecting a patient, but in today’s digital age, safeguarding their data is equally crucial. Let’s face it, seeking medical help often involves sharing deeply personal and sometimes scary details about our health. HIPAA empowers patients by creating a safe space for these conversations, so the last thing a healthcare worker wants to do is erode their trust with non-compliance. With technological advancements, a data breach really can put a patient at risk. A data breach can expose a patient’s most sensitive information – name, address, social security number, medical history. This can make them vulnerable to identity theft, targeted scams, and more. Unfortunately, Protected Health Information (PHI) is at the top of the list for malicious hackers to expose. The value of a health record can be worth as much as $1,000 on the dark web! It’s up to your practice or business to keep patients’ information safe. We’ve seen the repercussions of a violation, not only with the hefty fines but with the years of corrective measures and monitoring a practice or business has to go through. A Corrective Action Plan (CAP) from the OCR can be a major blow to an organization’s reputation. Not only does it expose past non-compliance to patients, but also includes years of close monitoring to ensure a practice or business doesn’t stray off the compliance path. And who wants to be grounded for years? How Abyde Can Help We’re all a patient somewhere! Wouldn’t you want your doctor to take every precaution to keep your information safe? Abyde is a software solution that makes HIPAA easy for your practice or business. We take the complexities of compliance and turn them into a cloud-based solution, with numerous resources all-in-one. The Security Risk Analysis, training, dynamically generated policies and procedures, and much more are all within the software, ensuring you’re on track for compliance. Compliance is so much more than avoiding fines, it’s making sure that every patient you interact with feels safe and secure. To learn more about compliance for your organization, schedule a consultation here for Covered Entities and here for Business Associates.
Royal Blunder: What the Kate Middleton Breach Teaches Us About Patient Privacy
April 5, 2024 Today, we’re talking about some international news. Once again, get your passport ready, because we’re taking a trip to the land of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and of course, the British monarchy. The British monarchy, spanning over 1200 years, has long been a symbol of the United Kingdom. You might have heard a lot of buzz about Kate Middleton’s health concerns over the last several months, with intense interest and curiosity regarding her recent absence from the public. People searching for answers became pandemonium, and rumors flourished, with millions rabidly looking for answers. Weeks after the introduction of ‘KateGate’, the Princess of Wales addressed the public, in a heartfelt video message, revealing her recent cancer diagnosis. However, this personal update was unable to be done on her terms. Hospital staffers searched for her private medical records, violating the princess’s privacy. Today, we’re talking about a topic that hits close to home for everyone: that everyone, including royalty, deserves their Protected Health Information (PHI) to be secure. A Royally Big Problem As a result of the media frenzy regarding the princess’s whereabouts, there was an unfortunate breach of protocol, with her information being searched for by three hospital staffers at the London Clinic after her surgery in January. These staffers have received disciplinary action and have been suspended. The CEO of the London Clinic, Al Russell has released a statement on the matter, “There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues.” The United Kingdom and Europe have similar legislation to HIPAA, protecting the privacy of its citizens, to learn more about their laws, read this linked article! An investigation was opened up by the Information Commissioner’s Office, or ICO. Similar to America’s Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, the ICO investigates data protection violations and has the power to enforce laws. They received a breach report at the end of March, and more information is soon to come. However, Kate Middleton is no stranger to healthcare breaches. A similar breach occurred over a decade ago when she was pregnant with her first child. When she was hospitalized for morning sickness, medical staff accidentally shared detailed medical information with callers they thought were Queen Elizabeth and (now King) Prince Charles. These callers weren’t royalty at all, but radio hosts! What can we learn from this? While we don’t have a monarchy stateside, it does serve the valuable lesson that even members in the public eye deserve their protected health information to be private. Ensure your practice has access controls set up, ensuring that information is only accessible to the ones that need it. Additionally, ensure staff is properly trained, knowing best practices in any situation. The Kate Middleton incident serves as a stark reminder of the constant vigilance required to safeguard patient privacy. By learning from past mistakes and implementing extensive security measures, like compliance software like Abyde, healthcare practices can create a culture of compliance. This culture of compliance empowers staff to make informed decisions and protect health information. To see how your compliance currently stands, email us at info@abyde.com and schedule a consultation here.
What’s the GDPR?: Your Guide to EU Data Privacy
April 4, 2024 Today, we’re talking about our friends across the pond – Europe. HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, guides the security of health information only in the United States. Don’t worry, the fight for data privacy goes global, with many countries having similar legislation. Now, even in the land of euros and rich history, the safety of personal information is important. Grab your passport! Today, we’re taking a quick trip over the Atlantic to explore how privacy laws are in Europe. What’s the GDPR? The GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulation, is the European Union’s equivalent to HIPAA. The GDPR was established in 2018, preceding similar legislation, and it defines the rights of EU citizens regarding how organizations collect and handle their personal information. For those unfamiliar with the EU, this currently includes 27 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Whew! That’s a lot of countries! Interestingly enough, countries that are not technically a part of the EU, but are a part of the European Economic Area, like Norway and Iceland, are also bound to the GDPR. Now, before you ask, we haven’t forgotten our British buddies. After Brexit, the United Kingdom split from the EU and established its system, similar to the GDPR, called the Data Protection Act. Alongside this legislation, they have the simply named: UK GDPR. Guess what that is? Ding ding ding! Yep, you guessed it! It’s the GDPR with slight updates for the UK. Hopefully, I haven’t lost you yet! GDPR vs HIPAA While the GDPR and HIPAA are really similar, they have major distinct differences. The GDPR not only covers healthcare but all situations that include personal information. Buying something online from an EU-based company? The retailer has to be GDPR-compliant. Even a US bank can’t outrun the GDPR! If you’re a US-based bank with a new location in Europe, that location has to be GDPR-compliant. The GDPR also allows for the right for erasure. If a patient wants their records to be deleted, a practice has one month to respond to the request. GDPR rules around consent are also more distinct than HIPAA, requiring explicit and informed consent. GDPR consent must be easy to give and withdraw. Rather than one organization, like the OCR, enforcing legislation, the GDPR is enforced by individual data protection authorities (DPAs) from the EU and EU-adjacent countries. GDPR fines can be vast – with some being up to 20 million Euros, or up to 4% of their total global annual revenue, whichever is higher! In a major GDPR case, health data software company Dedalus Biologie was fined €1.5 million in France for a data breach affecting nearly half a million people! What can we learn from this? Now, welcome back to the US! Hopefully, you were able to sleep on the way back. From our quick exploration, we can see how important data privacy is on a global scale. While Europe’s legislation might be more encompassing than HIPAA, the same message is clear: data privacy is a fundamental right. To see how your compliance currently stands in the US, email us at info@abyde.com and schedule a consultation here!
HHS Cracks Down on New Jersey Nursing Facility for HIPAA Violation
April 1, 2024 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has imposed a civil monetary penalty of $100,000 on Hackensack Meridian Health West Caldwell Care Center, a skilled nursing facility in New Jersey. The facility violated the HIPAA Right of Access law. The penalty stems from the facility’s failure to provide a patient’s medical records to their authorized representative in a timely manner, or within 30 days. According to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which investigated the case, Hackensack Meridian Health withheld the records even after receiving documentation demonstrating the individual’s legal right to access them. The requested records were ultimately sent to the authorized representative only after intervention by the OCR. HIPAA guarantees patients the right to access and obtain copies of their medical records. The OCR enforces this regulation and takes action against healthcare facilities that fail to comply. “A patient’s timely access to health records is paramount for medical care,” said OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer in a press release. “The OCR will continue to vigorously enforce this essential right to ensure compliance by health care facilities across the country.” This incident highlights the importance of HIPAA and the rights it grants patients regarding their medical information. It also serves as a reminder for healthcare providers to ensure they have clear procedures in place for handling requests for medical records. This is also the second Right of Access violation ruled on in the last week. Read more about other recent fines here.
Phoenix Healthcare Fine: Don’t be a Fool in Compliance
April 1, 2024 Happy April Fools Day! We hope you’re enjoying the holiday with some lighthearted fun and pranks! Now, HIPAA regulations are no laughing matter. HIPAA regulations are in place to protect patients’ information, making sure we all have the rights we deserve to keep our information safe. Today, we’re talking about the latest HIPAA fine, given to a multi-location nursing care organization in Oklahoma, Phoenix Healthcare. Phoenix Healthcare was fined 35 grand for violating the HIPAA Right of Access Rule, being the butt of the joke of this major fine. Get buckled up, pranksters! We’re all in for some April Fools’ fun but don’t even think about messing with HIPAA. Patient privacy is no joke! So, What Happened? Well, what happened was unfortunately not a prank. Phoenix Healthcare withheld someone’s health information for almost a year after an initial request was made. The OCR was made aware of this not-so-funny situation by a caretaker trying to get the health information of her mother, a patient at the nursing home. Like a joke that went on too long, Phoenix Healthcare eventually did send the information to the daughter. However, the HIPAA Right of Access Rule requires information to be shared within thirty days of a request. Some states, it’s even sooner, like California! The daughter reported the HIPAA violation to the OCR, and at first, Phoenix Healthcare was ordered to pay a fine of 75,000! With an appeal, and an agreement that Phoenix Healthcare updates its HIPAA policies and procedures, and provides training, the fine was lowered to 35,000. Whew! While Phoenix Healthcare is still on thin ice, they saved themselves a lot of money. What can I learn from this? Well, great question! First, HIPAA compliance is no joke. But don’t worry, no April Fool’s pranks here! To stay ahead of the curve, we can make sure your practice is up-to-date on all the HIPAA rules. That way, you can focus on the fun and leave the compliance worries to us. With Abyde, we make sure you Never Stress Over Compliance Again! The Abyde software offers a variety of features to simplify the compliance process. Yes, the words ‘simple’ and ‘compliance’ can be in the same sentence. While this is a chore for Phoenix Healthcare, the Abyde software even includes dynamically generated policies and procedures, having HIPAA-compliant policies in seconds. The training is also covered, with our enjoyable training that somehow turns learning about HIPAA fun! We promise you, this isn’t an April Fools trick, we actually make compliance easy. To learn more about how Abyde can help your practice, schedule a consultation, here.
Abyde Feature Week: BA | CE Portal
March 21, 2024 Let’s go! Day number four of Feature Week. We hope you’ve stayed tuned as we go over all the wonderful features that make Abyde the leading compliance software for Business Associates (BAs). We know that running your business can be tough, so we simplify compliance, so you can focus on being successful in your business. So far, this week we’ve gone over our intuitive Security Risk Analysis (SRA), our unique Scorecard, telling you what you need to do to be compliant based on your answers, and yesterday, our dynamically generated custom Policies and Procedures, saving your business countless hours in drafting documentation. How does this software get even better? Well, it does! Today, we’ll go over our state-of-the-art BA and CE (Covered Entity) Portal, where you can manage your Business Associate Agreements (BAAs). As we say here at Abyde, who does it better than us? NOBODY! BAA-lieve It or Not: The Importance of Business Associate Agreements A Business Associate Agreement, or a BAA, is an agreement between a BA and CE, or a Sub-BA, that outlines the roles and responsibilities of both parties when it comes to securing Protected Health Information (PHI). In simpler terms: a contract that spells out what each party needs to do when it comes to HIPAA compliance. One of the top HIPAA violations BAs make is not having a Business Associate Agreement in place. This agreement is required by the government, making sure both parties are aware of the responsibilities that come along with handling sensitive patient information. BAs must have agreements in place with all CEs and Sub-BAs they work with. Managing these agreements could be complicated without Abyde, being unaware of what needs to go into an agreement, getting it over to be signed and knowing when these agreements expire. But with Abyde, you don’t need to worry about this, simplifying the compliance process even more. Like how we dynamically generate custom Policies and Procedures, we create BAAs for you. All we need you to do is digitally sign. The BAA will be sent over by email through the software and will be stored in our nifty BA | CE Portal. Have an agreement expiring soon? We’ll notify you, giving you plenty of time to update your documentation so you can stay compliant. All BAAs are easily downloadable from the software and can be reviewed at all times. Have a partner who hasn’t signed yet? We’ll send reminders for them, too. With our revolutionary features, we think it’s clear: we want to make compliance the easiest part of running your business. To learn more about how you can manage your Business Associate Agreements with the Abyde software, email info@abyde.com and see it in action here.
Abyde Feature Week: Scorecard
March 19, 2024 Welcome to Feature Week! Whether you stayed tuned from last week, or are a first-time reader, we are celebrating the features that Abyde offers to make it easy for your practice to stay compliant. Yesterday, we highlighted Abyde’s state-of-the-art Security Risk Analysis (SRA), turning a complicated evaluation of your business’s compliance practices into a simple questionnaire that can be completed in minutes. Once your SRA is done, the Scorecard comes into play. Get comfortable and stay tuned on how this feature can make HIPAA a breeze for your business. Keeping Score Whew!, That SRA wasn’t so bad, right? So, what’s next? This isn’t a scorecard like in golf but is a hole-in-one when it comes to monitoring your compliance practices. The Scorecard is a review of your answers to the SRA and gives your business a thorough explanation of how your current practices hold up against regulations, and what your organization can do to improve. The SRA is like a coach’s playbook, outlining the game plan for HIPAA compliance. The Scorecard is this plan in action, like reviewing your game tape, seeing what you need to improve and what vulnerabilities you have as a business. This scorecard is easy to review and gives your business the risk levels of your current practices. Each question is unique, and some practices are more critical than others. For instance, only changing your password every six months is not ideal, but not as risky as not encrypting your files. Unfortunately, some practices will never be ‘low risk’, even if they are not wrong just because there’s always the chance of human and technological errors. For instance, numerous employees working remotely while handling Protected Health Information (PHI) is always going to be riskier than all PHI staying in one location. Impacted by a breach? You can easily show proof of a Security Risk Analysis by downloading the Scorecard in the software, showing the government that you take HIPAA seriously. You can also see every version of your Scorecard in the software, seeing how your path to compliance has gotten easier with the help of Abyde. Ready to keep your HIPAA compliance score? Reach out to info@abyde.com and schedule a demo here for your business.
Abyde Feature Week: Security Risk Analysis
March 18, 2024 For some, this might be Spring Break, but we have something even more exciting planned: Feature Week! Throughout this week, we are going to share the amazing things we have to offer Business Associates (BAs) for HIPAA compliance. I know that Spring Break and software features might seem like worlds apart, but somehow at Abyde, we make compliance and simplicity go hand in hand. So, get comfortable, fix your beach chair, grab a drink, and see how Abyde can make your compliance journey easy with our Security Risk Analysis (SRA). What is a Security Risk Analysis (SRA)? A Security Risk Analysis (SRA) is a required assessment of risks and vulnerabilities of how Protected Health Information (PHI) is handled. The quick 411– PHI is identifiable information about a patient, like a social security number, medical records and more. The Security Risk Analysis, established in the Security Rule, is an overall evaluation of how your business properly protects PHI, ranging from how often you change the passwords on your systems, to security alarms on the door of the business. This assessment is required, and organizations’ lack of one is a common HIPAA violation. Last year, a BA was fined $100,000 by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) after they were impacted by a ransomware attack. One of the first things the OCR looks for is an SRA. As you might’ve guessed, there was no SRA in place, contributing to the hefty fine. How Abyde can help There’s A LOT of information to go through, and it might be overwhelming. That’s where our simplified Security Risk Analysis comes in. With Abyde, you can now analyze your processes without needing to hire a consultant or trying to audit yourself by referring to tons of paperwork. Before Abyde, an SRA could take weeks. With Abyde, it takes minutes. Our simple questions get straight to the point, and if you don’t know the answer to something? Don’t worry! You can mark the question and it will come back up later in our Ongoing Questions section on the dashboard, or call our team of compliance experts for help. Abyde is here to make compliance simple. It’s what we do best. Stay tuned for the next day in our feature week: our Scorecard. To learn more about the features of the Abyde software, email us at info@abyde.com and see the software in action by scheduling a demo here for Business Associates and here for Covered Entities.
Change Healthcare Breach: What We Know Now
March 14, 2024 BREAKING NEWS! Your friends at Abyde are right back at you with an update on the Change Healthcare breach. Check out our first blog post on the breach here! Now, to quickly bring you up to speed, Change Healthcare, a division of United Healthcare, was impacted by a ransomware attack. This ransomware attack is like nothing we’ve ever seen, and being called the most significant attack on our healthcare system of all time. This ransomware attack was disastrous, taking Change Healthcare systems offline, and making it impossible for healthcare providers to check for insurance eligibility, see new patients, properly process prescriptions correctly, and much more. Now, it’s been several weeks since the initial attack, and we have the latest scoop for you. What’s going on now? Well, now here comes the fallout. While some of the systems have been able to get back online, like pharmacy functions, Change Healthcare is still not 100%. This has been detrimental to healthcare providers, and is costing them $100 million a day! Now, I know that’s gotta hurt. Now, the lawsuits are starting to roll in. Now, multiple class action lawsuits have been filed against Change Healthcare/United Healthcare due to its inadequate security systems and how it’s been handled. Unfortunately, in this attack, it’s highly likely Protected Health Information (PHI) is in the hands of criminals. In this ransomware attack, over six TB of stolen data was encrypted by the deceptive hackers. So, these lawsuits are just getting started. The government is also involved in this breach, investigating the causes and effects of the ransomware attack. The FBI has run into this group of hackers before and has taken some of their servers offline, causing many to think this attack was of vengeance. The Department of Health and Human Services also came together to discuss and address the impact of the cyber attack for more to come. As of yesterday, March 13, the Office of Civil Rights also released a statement of beginning their investigation of the attack. It’s safe to say this is far from over, and it’s been a tough month for United Healthcare. What should I do? To keep up with the news, we recommend you follow our news page, where we release the newest updates in compliance news and the best tips for your practice or business. To keep up with the Change Healthcare system updates, you can follow this page here. To keep your practice or business safe, and avoid this hot water that United Healthcare found itself in, it is essential for you to proactively protect your organization. This includes working with an IT company, employing firewalls, encryption, and of course, having compliance software like Abyde. Abyde is your one-stop shop when it comes to compliance management, allowing you to evaluate your risks and address them before it’s too late. Need documentation in order? Yeah, all in the software. Oh and – let me stop you right there, yes, we also dynamically generate our personalized policies and procedures, so don’t worry about writing them. And if you experience a breach? We’re here for you. We have an awesome team of compliance experts here to help you navigate any situation, so you’re not alone. Want to learn more about compliance? Reach out to us at info@abyde.com and schedule a compliance consultation here for Covered Entities, and here for Business Associates!
Top Mistakes of Business Associates in Healthcare: How to Avoid Partnership Pitfalls
March 13, 2024 Hi Business Associates (BAs)! We know that working with healthcare practices adds the stress of securing the Protected Health Information (PHI) of patients. Running a business and protecting patients can be tough, but it’s a requirement under HIPAA. This shared responsibility is key to keeping your business compliant, allowing you to have a successful business, happy partners, and of course, safe patients. Here are some of the most common compliance violations BAs make, and how you can avoid them. Dude, Where’s My Business Associate Agreement? The first thing a Business Associate needs to do is sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) when working with a Covered Entity (CE). BAAs are a game plan for our business alongside healthcare practice. With a proper BAA, your organization has documentation of your shared responsibilities to keep PHI secure. If there’s anything you need to know about compliance, it’s to document everything! This BAA includes important information about permitted uses and disclosures of PHI, safeguards that the BA is expected to establish, Breach Notification requirements, training requirements and more. Now, this map of your partnership seems like a pretty easy thing to do, especially because it takes some liability off of your shoulders. However, one of the most common violations of HIPAA for BAs is not having this agreement documented. There have been millions of dollars in fines that stem from one simple thing: not having a BAA. It’s a simple step your business has to take, and with Abyde, we make it easy. With our software, we will draft a personalized BAA for your organization. All you have to do is sign it and send it off to your CE partner. Worried about losing this BAA? Don’t worry! It lives in the software having this documentation readily available for your business. Getting Schooled A Lack of training is another top mistake for BAs. Once again, as a BA, it is imperative to be aware and educated on compliance. While compliance training might not exactly be as exciting as a Rocky montage running around Philly, it is very important, and when done right, can be fun. Abyde nails entertaining training with our interactive material, simplifying complicated topics into top-notch training. Once again, training is vital for BAs, and when not completed, the consequences can be severe. When you violate HIPAA rules, like not training, the minimum fine is $137 per incident. Something like that can add up pretty quickly. Additionally, training is so important in promoting a culture of compliance, ensuring all employees know the essential role they play in your business. Breach Bandits Unfortunately, breaches are common in healthcare. While it is imperative to take proper precautions against breaches, like having an IT company’s assistance, controlled access, and more, it can still happen. Sometimes, no matter how hard you secure your business, breach bandits still find a way through your security. While it might happen to you, you can always control how you handle the situation. Before a breach even occurs, you need to take the proper cybersecurity precautions, and also complete a Security Risk Analysis (SRA). After a breach, it is required to follow the Breach Notification Rule of HIPAA. The Breach Notification defines what your business needs to do if it is impacted by a breach, including how it needs to be reported and how it must be shared with affected patients. The consequences of improperly handling a breach can be catastrophic, with major fines affecting your business. For example, the first ransomware attack ruled on by the OCR impacted a BA. This Business Associate was caught in the crosshairs of a ransomware attack and was fined $100,000 due to their lack of a SRA and having no policies and procedures in order. Now, dun dun dun! That’s where Abyde steps in again. Our software includes a simple SRA for your business to complete, going through all OSHA requirements in a questionnaire that takes minutes to complete. Well, you might now be wondering: What about policies and procedures? How do I quickly write those? I don’t know what I need? Well, the Abyde software has dynamically generated policies and procedures for your practice, drafted in seconds. Overall, your friends at Abyde know that running both a successful business AND ensuring the protection of patients’ data can be complicated, and that’s why we’re here to help. Abyde is the simple solution for all of your compliance concerns, with our intuitive software making compliance easy. To learn more about how Abyde can eliminate your business’ compliance worries, email us at info@abyde.com or schedule a consultation here.