Compliance Attorney Arkady Bukh Explains Why a Doctor Must Incorporate HIPAA Compliance Strategy

Privacy is a big deal in the healthcare world, and violating it is not only a danger to your business, it is against the law and can have serious impacts upon both your reputation in the healthcare community as well as your financial health. 

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws were first enacted in 1996 ostensibly to protect the privacy of every American citizen who participates in healthcare and violating these laws can have severe consequences for healthcare professionals. Despite their well-meant intentions of protecting patient privacy, oftentimes accidentally breaking any one of these laws can have serious and lasting consequences for physicians and healthcare providers.

In New York, not only will physicians be disciplined by the OPMC, but they also risk potentially damaging litigation if they break these privacy laws. 

When handling large amounts of patient information on a daily basis, compliance with these types of regulations is not an easy task, and mistakes can be made without any ill-intentions.

Ascertaining your risk factors in relation to HIPAA and New York patient privacy laws is a good way to keep your regulatory compliance in check and to protect yourself and your employees from any future litigation.

Common Obstacles with HIPAA Compliance

• Does HIPAA apply to your business? HIPAA laws only apply to “covered entities”, which include all those who offer healthcare plans or provide healthcare services and submit healthcare information electronically. 
• What rights are given to patients under HIPAA? Patients are able to both restrict and be given the disclosure of their health information under these laws.
• What are the rules of security in regards to HIPAA and state privacy laws? This is a complex one, but healthcare service providers of all types must do a risk analysis to show they are complying with safeguards and security laws. 
• How should a business respond to HIPAA complaints? In order to comply with standards, often a person must be appointed to contact in the event that patients want to submit complaints or allow certain disclosures of their information. 
• How does HIPAA interact with telemedicine privacy laws? Telemedicine and HIPAA compliance laws are constantly changing, but our legal team can assist you in ensuring your service providers meet legal state and national standards. 

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Complying with every strict regulation and statute regarding medical information can be an onerous task, especially if you do not currently employ anyone who is an expert in this complex area of law. HIPAA violations can spell disaster for healthcare centers and businesses, however, so it’s a good idea to keep in touch with someone who has worked in this field to ensure you are complying with the letter of every law.