Compliance* is an ‘Absolute’ term and a GoalIn reality, you will never be compliant but can always work towards being Compliant. Fines are only secondary to failures. Fines for non-compliance should not Dictate HIPAA. Show good faith efforts in Learning, Applying and Practicing Safety Measures while handling Protected Health Information
online dental ce coursesHIPAA can be Simplified based on —
- Choosing Your Teacher/Trainer and Source of Information
Is your teacher a Qualified Dentist who can teach HIPAA?Has the Experience in the Profession of Dentistry?Has Trained, Visited and Conducted Audits of dental practicesProvided Care to Dental Patients and handled PHI for decades— Obtained Patients’ Consent for Procedures— Obtained Patients’ Consent for Sharing Information— Explained the Consent Process for Information Sharing// Referral to other Professionals for Care// Use, Protection, Modification and Preservation of PHI (in treatment and during research)// Patient’s Rights and Access to their PHI— Provided them a copy of their signed consentMeaningfully Trained and Supervised Dental Professionals handling PHI in the Clinic, and provided Training at Professional Educational VenuesReferred Patients or Received Referrals from other Dentists/Clinics and Corrected ErrorsDoes not just ‘Parrot’ Rules and Standards but Provides real-life/dental examples of ‘what happens in the clinic’Uses help, consultant panel, coordination, and services of Qualified Professionals in keeping data/PHI Secure and being a Professional Resource for Clinics— IT Engineers and IT Systems Installers, Integrators— Networks, Computers,— End-Point Security Professionals— Medical and HIPAA Related Legal ProfessionalsMakes available External Resources for Dental Practices such as-— Experts— Consultants— Service Providers (Device and IT Security Services for Dentistry)— Legal Professionals (Medical, Contract & HIPAA Lawyers— Audit Forms developed specifically for Risk Analysis (By Legal Professionals)2. Understanding Consent (like Informed Consent for treatment, a similar concept applies here. Don’t change or share information without patient’s formal and written consent)3. Protect patient’s Protected Health information (PHI)
- Personal Information
- Financial Information
- Health Information
- Understanding Patient’s Rights and Provides Access to their PHI (HITECH Act)
- How do you Respect & Protect the Patient and PHI
a. Digitallyb. Physicallyc. Avoid errors (Correctable and non-Correctable Errors)
- Entry
- Modification without consent/record of Change
- Referral to wrong clinic
- Deletion and not having a back-up
d. Avoid misusee. Have access to the PHI when needed, who has access, what level of accessf. Secure your networks, access to the network, data handling/input devices, servers, back-up systems, encryption tools, encrypted data sharing measures, systems, and softwareg. Acceptable measures in deletion/wiping/destruction of data4. Breaches, Hacks, Ransomware Attacks, or errors in data sharing and preservation (has happened, is happening and will happen in future) online dental ce coursesa. Understand the Risks, Threats, Vulnerabilities and Corrective Measuresb. Review your systems within your clinic, conduct periodic self-assessment of safety measures in place, and document them (Risk Analysis and Risk Management)c. Understand the levels of the breakdown or breaches (small vs. large)d. Procedures to follow a Breach
- Who to inform (State & Federal)
- Responsible Contact Person
- Procedures in Place to Meet with the Requirements for Handling and Communication with affected Patients
ToothCe offers live training sessions every Friday on OSHA, Infection control, and HIPAA. These sessions are given out by a leading provider of Dental CDE includes live video lessons, narrations, and illustrations, which allows you to improve your practice at minimal expense.
