ABYDE FOR FUNCTIONAL LAWYER MEMBERS

It's time for stress-free compliance.

  • EASIEST SOFTWARE YOU’LL EVER USE

    And if we’re being honest, easy is an understatement. All companies say it, but we are so confident in the simplicity of our software that we will prove it.

  • ‘HANDS OFF’ APPROACH

    We automate it all – from notifications about training to policy generation. Can you imagine not having to set your own reminders?! Go ahead, focus on your patients – we will ping you with the important stuff.

  • CUSTOMER SUCCESS TEAM LIKE NO OTHER

    We will meet you where you are – whether that’s by phone, chat, or email. It’s tough stuff in the tech space, but our customers love us as much as we love them.

  • STATE BY STATE, LAW BY LAW

    No matter what state your practice is in, our solution is for you — from sea to shining sea. We know our stuff and dedicate ourselves to staying on top of the latest state and federal changes so you don’t have to.

  • MORE THAN JUST SOFTWARE

    With us, you get more than policies and software. We offer Master Classes, newsletters, and more to keep you up to date. At the end of the day, we are proud to lead with education.

LATEST COMPLIANCE NEWS

Abyde Updates 2024-2025

Ahead of the Curve: Abyde’s Latest Updates Keep You Covered

May 29, 2025   It’s been a pivotal year for healthcare compliance. The largest ever healthcare data breach occurred at the beginning of 2024, and now the HHS Office for Civil Rights is reviewing and soon implementing new HIPAA legislation.  Don’t worry; as an Abyde customer, we’ve got you covered. Our cloud-based software is rapidly updated with features to address the latest legislation.  To help you keep up with all the compliance changes, Abyde is committed to providing an adaptable software platform to maintain compliance within an ever-changing regulatory environment. We’ve compiled a quick rundown of the most significant Abyde updates from the past year. These updates assist your practice in automating, simplifying, and streamlining compliance.    Business Associate Accountability Abyde expanded our ecosystem with a new product, HIPAA for Business Associates, to serve the vendors of Covered Entities. Even if they don’t directly care for patients, they still play an essential role in keeping that information safe.  Like your Abyde experience, Business Associates (BAs) now have a centralized hub for HIPAA responsibilities. With the Abyde for Business Associates solution, your BAs can take control of their compliance program. Your practice can also have peace of mind that the businesses you work with take compliance seriously.  We’ve also made it easier to manage Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) within our Covered Entities software. Now, BAAs are dynamically updated to be location-specific. BAs can be assigned to one or more locations within multi-location accounts. This helps everyone stay accurate and accountable when handling PHI.  Additionally, when completing your Security Risk Analysis (SRA), your BAs can now assist in answering questions with the new SRA Contributor feature. With the SRA Contributor, BAs or fellow staff can help answer questions you may be unsure of, allowing your practice to receive and review answers while completing the SRA. This enables your BA to provide support with technical questions and permits your practice to complete the SRA more quickly and accurately.  Staying Ahead of the Latest Legislation  Abyde is committed to proactively updating our software to maintain your practice’s compliance with evolving healthcare regulations.  We’ve kept this commitment with our Compliance Task Force team, a team of our experts dedicated to thoroughly addressing new legislation. Our Compliance Task Force reviews and researches new legislation in advance, ensuring Abyde’s software remains compliant with the latest laws.  One example is recent legislation on workplace violence. As healthcare staff is five times as likely to experience workplace violence compared to other workers, federal OSHA legislation is incoming. Abyde quickly updated its platform to reflect Cal/OSHA’s new Workplace Violence Prevention legislation, which requires substantial changes to compliance programs, such as new logs and training. Because Cal/OSHA’s rules frequently become federal standards, Abyde users gain the advantage of early compliance, ensuring they’re ready for future national mandates. In addition, we provided a webinar about these new requirements, ensuring all were aware of their responsibilities.  Another major recent legislative change was introducing a reproductive healthcare attestation form. Initiated by the Biden administration, reproductive healthcare is handled separately, requiring additional paperwork to share PHI. While this update has been contested, practices are prepared with the additional paperwork in the Forms section of the Policies & Procedures module. Abyde software is tailored to federal and state laws. For example, we recently adjusted the New York Breach Notification Policy based on recent state regulations.  Overall, Abyde’s software is equipped to deliver necessary updates promptly in response to new legislation. With new incoming legislation, like the updated Security Rule, it’s vital to use software that makes change easy.    Training Tailored to Your Schedule We understand your time is valuable, so we’ve made managing your team’s HIPAA training easier than ever.  Abyde’s training overhaul in the HIPAA solutions allows HCOs to schedule training. Training for the entire subscription year is now available up front, allowing HCOs to schedule it at their earliest convenience. If you prefer Abyde’s automated scheduling, worry not! The original cadence remains in place as a default.  The new updates, tailored to your practice, also allow for training to be resent. For example, after a breach, reviewing training is key, as is ensuring staff are retrained on best practices to mitigate future risk.  New training has also been revolutionized into three bite-sized pieces, making it more palatable for viewers to retain the information. The update also included structuring insights into three tabs in the training section in both HIPAA solutions to organize the videos easily. Abyde’s streamlined and simplified training process provides flexibility for your practice, empowering your team to create a training schedule that fits your availability.    Reduce Risk for Your Practice Your practice was likely affected by the Change Healthcare Breach in the past year. This massive breach was a wake-up call for everyone in the healthcare industry. The fundamental security oversight was the absence of multi-factor authentication.  As a result of this discovery, Abyde implemented MFA to access our solutions, following best practices. Now, a unique code will be sent when attempting to log into Abyde’s software.  While this update might add a few seconds to your login routine, this extra layer of protection keeps your account secure. It also serves as a great reminder to review passwords and add MFA when possible. This additional cybersecurity measure will also likely become required as part of the new Security Rule updates.    Making Abyde Even Easier If you ever need a quick refresher on the Abyde HIPAA for Covered Entities solution, we’ve recently implemented in-app explainer videos.  These videos can be found throughout the software, providing a short video on each module. Get the answers you need instantly, right where you need them. These short clips ensure everyone feels confident navigating the solution, which means less time searching and more time focused on patient care. And remember, if you ever need any compliance assistance, the subscription includes access to our compliance experts.    Abyde Updates – Protecting your Practice  It’s been a busy year for HIPAA, with legislation updates,

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BayCare HIPAA Fine

BayCare’s $800k HIPAA Violation: The Consequences of Unmonitored Staff Access

May 29, 2025   A successful practice is built upon a strong foundation of well-trained and aware staff.  Protecting patient data is a critical responsibility for healthcare staff. Data breaches involving Protected Health Information (PHI) can occur in many ways, but the foundation of security lies in a workforce committed to safeguarding it. A Florida healthcare provider, BayCare Health System, experienced the consequences of improper disclosure of PHI due to a complaint and a noncompliant staff member in the latest HIPAA fine.  Acting Director of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Anthony Archeval commented on the importance of managing staff access, saying, “allowing unrestricted access to patient health information can create an attractive target for a malicious insider.”   What Happened? In 2018, an unnamed complainant visited St. Joseph’s Hospital, a facility under the BayCare Health System, for an appointment. After treatment, she received communication from an unknown contact who sent the complainant photos of her medical records and a video of a BayCare associate scrolling through her file as well.  This communication led to a complaint filed with the OCR. Several years of legal interactions and investigations by the OCR resulted in an $800,000 settlement six years later.  After the investigation, it was found that BayCare failed to have procedures and policies for handling ePHI, failed to reduce risks, and did not review staff access.  This nearly million-dollar fine resulted from a malicious insider, insufficient documentation, and an oversight of staff privileges.  Reviewing staff access is vital for protecting patient data. By monitoring staff activity, you can ensure that PHI does not end up in the wrong hands. Additionally, when providing staff with access to PHI, confirm that access is necessary to complete essential job tasks. This falls under the Minimum Necessary Standard within the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which enforces that disclosed PHI is only shared for an authorized and required purpose.  Staff must be thoroughly trained in their responsibilities before accessing PHI, and policies and procedures regarding handling PHI must be readily available for staff to review.  While this situation did not lead to jail time, it is not unheard of in the medical field, so staff must also be aware of the consequences.    Training and Monitoring Staff with Abyde Smart compliance solutions streamline training, policies and procedures, and monitoring access, creating a culture of compliance that protects your organization from malicious insiders. With an intelligent platform managing compliance, you can dynamically generate unique policies and procedures in seconds, automating this task without human error.  Additionally, a centralized compliance hub allows staff to review documentation before working with patients and refer to it if there is any confusion. Access logs can also be found in this hub, which keeps staff accountable when they review patient PHI.  With intelligent solutions, proactive compliance is made easy, encouraging staff to take their HIPAA responsibilities seriously. Speak with a compliance expert today to learn more about how compliance can be simplified for your practice. 

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