This webinar will help health information professionals understand what they have to do, and when, and what to keep in mind as they move forward, in order to be in compliance with the new HIPAA regulations. It will provide a comprehensive look at the changes in the rules on access and prepare attendees for the process of incorporating the changes into how they do business in their facilities.
Medical laboratories are now required to provide individual access to test records, and will need to have processes to authenticate those who request information and the means to ensure that the correct results are provided to authenticated individuals.
HHS has recently issued new guidance on issues relating to access of mental health records and the records of minors, clarifying what information may be provided or not, depending on the information and other circumstances. The guidance also includes information on dealing with law enforcement requests for information on alleged violators of the law.
This training program will review new regulations and their effects on usual practices will be discussed, as will what policies need to be changed and how. The presenter will highlight what policies and evidence you may need to produce if you are audited by the HHS Office of Civil Rights, which has already indicated that compliance with the rules on patient access of records is a significant problem that is likely to be a focus of the new HIPAA Audits in 2015.
Apart from changes in compliance rules, enforcement rules too have been updated, with a new four-tier violation schedule with increased fines, and mandatory fines for willful neglect of compliance that start at $10,000 even if the problem is corrected within 30 days of discovery. Violations that are not promptly corrected carry mandatory minimum fines starting at $50,000 and can reach $1.5 million for any particular violation. And any reports of willful neglect are required to be investigated under the law. Even violations for a reasonable cause or with reasonable diligence taken are subject to penalty. This course will discuss what is necessary to avoid penalties and make sound compliance decisions.
Why Should You Attend:
Changes modifying the HIPAA Privacy and Security Regulations have gone into place to meet the privacy and security mandates within the HITECH Act in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as implemented in the HIPAA Omnibus Update rule published January 25, 2013, and the recent changes to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). Covered entities, and particularly those that use electronic health records (EHRs), will need to meet the new access and disclosure rules. And if you are required to have a HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, you need to update that to show all the new rights that patients have.Medical laboratories are now required to provide individual access to test records, and will need to have processes to authenticate those who request information and the means to ensure that the correct results are provided to authenticated individuals.
HHS has recently issued new guidance on issues relating to access of mental health records and the records of minors, clarifying what information may be provided or not, depending on the information and other circumstances. The guidance also includes information on dealing with law enforcement requests for information on alleged violators of the law.
This training program will review new regulations and their effects on usual practices will be discussed, as will what policies need to be changed and how. The presenter will highlight what policies and evidence you may need to produce if you are audited by the HHS Office of Civil Rights, which has already indicated that compliance with the rules on patient access of records is a significant problem that is likely to be a focus of the new HIPAA Audits in 2015.
Apart from changes in compliance rules, enforcement rules too have been updated, with a new four-tier violation schedule with increased fines, and mandatory fines for willful neglect of compliance that start at $10,000 even if the problem is corrected within 30 days of discovery. Violations that are not promptly corrected carry mandatory minimum fines starting at $50,000 and can reach $1.5 million for any particular violation. And any reports of willful neglect are required to be investigated under the law. Even violations for a reasonable cause or with reasonable diligence taken are subject to penalty. This course will discuss what is necessary to avoid penalties and make sound compliance decisions.
Areas Covered in the Webinar:
- Learn about the new access rights under HIPAA and CLIA regulations.
- Learn about the guidance from HHS regarding access of mental health information and minors' information.
- Find out what the regulations call for and what processes you must have in place for the proper approval and denial of access as appropriate.
- Learn about the required process for the review of certain denials of access.
- Learn how e-mail and texting should be handled, what can go wrong, and what can result when it does.
- Find out about HIPAA requirements for access and patient preferences, as well as the requirements to protect PHI.
- Learn about the training and education that must take place to ensure your staff handles access requests properly.
- Learn about how the HIPAA audit and enforcement activities are now being increased and what you need to do to survive a HIPAA audit.
Who Will Benefit:
This webinar will provide valuable assistance to all personnel in medical offices, practice groups, hospitals, academic medical centers, insurers, business associates (shredding, data storage, systems vendors, billing services, etc.). The titles are:- Compliance Director
- CEO
- CFO
- Privacy Officer
- Security Officer
- Information Systems Manager
- HIPAA Officer
- Chief Information Officer
- Health Information Manager
- Healthcare Counsel/lawyer
- Office Manager
- Contracts Manager
Course Provider
Jim Sheldon-Dean,
