Nine HIPAA Network Considerations

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Omnibus Final Rule, released January 2013, introduced some significant changes and updates. At the same time, over 100 HIPAA audits concluded in 2012. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released initial analysis of these audits in May 2013. The HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule and 2012 HIPAA audit results may influence how you run your network in the future. Here are nine network considerations that could impact your network and IT processes.

HIPAA Audits will continue

The HIPAA Audit Protocol and NIST 800-66 are your best preparation

Knowledge is a powerful weapon―know where your PHI is

Risk Assessment drives your baseline

Risk Management is continuous

Security best practices are essential

Ignorance is not bliss

Your business associate(s) must be tracked

Breach discovery times: know your discovery tolerance

Each of these considerations will be explored in a nine-part blog series, posted on the healthcare blogs site.