The proper execution of legal and healthcare-related practices by law firms and individual attorneys most often requires protecting patient healthcare information as HIPAA mandates. Protected Health Information (PHI) is governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which is relevant to law firms in business relationships with HIPAA-covered entities.
This paper serves as a guide to law firms that wish to comply with HIPAA standards. Having sub-ordained these obligations, legal practices can mitigate dangers and ensure that necessary processes are adhered to albeit with confidentiality in health data.
Understanding Key HIPAA Terms Relevant to Law Firms
Every journey to understanding HIPAA compliance should first begin by looking at important definitions.
- PHI or Protected Health Information is any information about the health or health care of an individual, including related payment information that links to that individual.
- Covered Entities are health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers, who electronically transfer health information.
- Other functions of law firms include acting as Business Associates who process PHI as provided by covered entities.
- A Business Associate Agreement is vital in the sense that attorneys may become over-inquisitive concerning the do’s and not of their approving PHI.
HIPAA Compliance Requirements Survival Strategies for Law Firms
In the United States of America, all law firms managing protected health information (PHI) must practice HIPAA compliance, which comes with several obligations such as strict protocol of adhering to the office procedures guidelines. Some of the key obligations include:
1. ePHI Access Controls
Having secure systems on the people who are allowed to view or modify the electronic PHI (ePHI) and how many of them can manage the ePHI. This includes peculiar usernames and passwords and incorporating staff training.
2. Data Security Standards
Putting in place measures to guard against any unauthorized access, restoring, changing or deleting PHI. This is especially biological for damages, medispoli malpractice, and injuries to workers.
Compliance with professional standards above all ensures that their practices do not violate the confidentiality of health-sensitive information electronically and professionally.
Organizational Safeguards: Risk & Staff Training
For law firms, administrative safeguards in HIPAA compliance have great importance in practicing ethical conduct and legal requirements. To achieve this staff members are trained regarding HIPAA policies, procedures, and breaches. Attorneys, associates, and other staff should be thoroughly informed of measures that curtail possible loss of data through breaches and confidential protected health information (PHI).
To strengthen a sound and appropriate risk management system for law firms:
- Conduct regular risk assessments regularly to find threats.
- Create action-appropriate systems for addressing issues of compliance.
- Have clear and factual records of documents about the compliance level of the firm’s HPC.
These practices contribute to the improvement of the quality and security of legal services rendered.
Physical Safeguards: Prevention of Unauthorized Access to Protecting Health Information.
June 3, 2011, | Security: Protection of information in physical form other than in electronic media is the case at law firms where they store or take care of Protected Health Information (PHI). Effective physical safeguards in HIPAA compliance encompass several actions inclusive of.
- Restricted Access: Restrict entrance to rooms containing PHI by use of locking mechanisms, security systems, identity cards, or locking systems.
- Secured Location: Keep the PHI in locked drawers or a room with restricted access.
- CCTV systems: Use of cameras to prevent entry of unauthorized persons into certain areas.
- Access Control: A system whereby visitors’ names are recorded as they are escorted to certain sensitive locations.
These measures help your firm to secure sensitive information regarding clients that they would otherwise lose their trust and be compliant with laws and regulations.
Technical Safeguards: More focus on Information Technology in securing Electronic Data
It is important to note that, it is so. Compliance with HIPAA by law firms must incorporate appropriate technical safeguards.
The Importance of Encryption in Protecting ePHI
Encryption is quite important in averting exposure to threats of private matters such as ePHI through transfer and storage. Protecting trial summaries, deposition reviews, and chart retrievals with encryption enables law firms to prevent undue access breaches of sensitive information.
Significance of Secure Authentication Mechanisms
Furthermore, it should also be noted that secure login protocols should be employed. Insider threats have been circumvented through the creation of unique usernames and passwords that allow only authorized personnel to access PHI information systems. Such constraints must be instituted to ensure the security of ePHI as it is prepared and during the legal process and reinforce the existing data security structure within the firm.
Common Mistakes: How to Minimize Repeated Breach of HIPAA Regulations in Law Firms:
There are several typical health insurance portability and accountability (HIPAA) violations, which law firms infringe with very great frequency and such violations attract heavy penalties. Understanding these pitfalls is essential if compliance is to be sustained:
- Inappropriate PHI Access: PHI may be accessed without adequate controls and PHI may be disposed of badly, accompanied with the common issue of sharing PHI without proper authorizations.
- Deficient Business Associate Agreements: A large volume of law firms fail to initiate the correct forms of agreements with creditors whom they delegate the task of dealing with PHIT on their behalf.
- Poor education: Most of the employees will have no or little training concerning HIPAA-related policies and procedures and thus, accidental violations will occur.
Useful strategies may include organizing regular educational training, putting in place strong safety measures, and of course, all the agreements must be HIPAA compliant.
The HITECH Act’s Influence on Law Firm Responsibilities under HIPAA
It is apparent what the additional provisions in HITECH mean for HIPAA resolution at law firms and business associates. The additional amendments enacted were in line with promoting the use of health information technology. The enacted amendments broadened the coverage regarding breach notifications and penalties for non-compliance.
The key implications include the following:
- Breach Notifications: Clients and law firms will be compelled to inform each other of breaches of or against any Protected Health Information (PHI) within the minimum time possible.
- Increased Penalties: There are going to be huge financial penalties for noncompliance further stressing the need to have adequate compliance mechanisms in place.
Apprehending these impacts is key for legal practices regarding compliance with resultant obligations as outlined in HIPAA.
Proactive Measures: Self-assessment and Risk Assessment Activities regularly
Carrying out self-audits allows law firms to remain compliant with HIPAA as it helps identify any non-conformance that may escalate to a HIPAA violation. These audits have several advantages such as:
- Assessing Non-Compliant Areas: Evaluation of performance on compliance regularly helps to identify compliance failure areas
- Improving Security: Risk assessments reveal the shortcomings of data security policies helping in rectification.
- Raising Awareness: Regular audits bring many of the employees of an organization to surf the internet concerning matters of compliance and how it is done in the firm.
- Reducing Potential Compensation: The risks of incurring non-compliance costs like fines are low as problems are resolved in advance.
Adopting a regular self-audit methodology strengthens the legal practice mentality of protecting putative health information (PHI).
Being Proactive: Crafting a Data Breach Response Plan that Caters for the Needs of the Law Firm.
For attorneys who handle PHI, it is beneficial to develop a data breach response plan. Some of the elements to consider in this plan are:
- At the height of The Breach: Triage: This will involve establishing a breach containment strategy to reduce further if any, unauthorized access to the information system.
- Divulgation Procedures: Explain the procedures that are required when notifying the impacted individuals, OCR as well as any other entity that is required to be notified under the provisions of the HITECH Act.
- Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies: Determine the extent of the breach, correct it, and limit the damage that may be done.
- Documentation and Reporting: Document all aspects of the investigation, actions taken, and required notifications to meet all requirements of notification obligations.
It is a good idea for a law firm to have a data breach response plan template to be ready, this coordinates with – HIPAA Compliance for Law Firms and Attorneys – Some Facts to Know.
Trust RRR Health Tech to handle your medical records with utmost confidentiality and compliance.
HIPAA is one of the most rigorous government standards concerning security and privacy. Attorneys, medical review firms offering medical records services, and other organizations handling protected health information (PHI) must adhere to HIPAA regulations to avoid penalties for non-compliance. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is highly vigilant in enforcing HIPAA requirements.
Their enforcement actions have resulted in numerous settlement agreements with non-compliant covered entities, often requiring substantial monetary payments and significant corrective measures.
