Securing your patients’ dental records can be difficult, especially with cyber attacks on the rise. Maintaining your dental practice HIPAA-compliant can help lower the risk of lawsuits against your practice. It may also help you avoid significant fines and other penalties while giving your patients a sense that you are keeping their private health information secure.
HIPAA Requirements for Dental Offices
HIPAA requires dental practices to protect clients’ private health information (PHI). They also need to streamline record-keeping and ensure patients always have access to their medical records. The four main requirements of HIPAA include:
- Protect patient’s PHI from being accessed by unauthorized individuals
- Comply with up-to-date cyber security protection and protocols to protect patient information
- Notify patients promptly if their PHI has been compromised
- Using electronic health records for optimum security
Protect Access to Patients’ Medical Records
Only staff members can access patient records for legitimate medical reasons, in addition to patients and those with explicit permission to access their medical information. Training staff members on how and when they can access PHI and establishing document access controls is necessary. Ensuring you’re using a HIPAA-compliant server can help you securely save patient records.
Using Data Security Practices to Avoid HIPAA Breaches
Dental practices are more vulnerable to information leaks and data breaches than other types of medical offices. As a dental practice, you’re particularly vulnerable to information leaks and data breaches, which can violate all of the PHI requirements found in HIPAA. As a practice, all computers, tablets, and other electronic devices should have multi-login access and complex passwords.
Computer hardware with unsecured PHI can be stolen or lost, putting patients’ information at risk. Dental practices should also use medical-grade platforms to communicate with clients. Secure platforms will protect against unsecured or unauthorized devices. Two-factor authorization to access patient records can help decrease the risk of phishing and ransomware attacks.
Carefully Dispose of Patients’ Medical Information
Many dental practices unintentionally expose their patients’ PHI when disposing of computers or changing to new data management programs. Hiring a skilled IT professional to help you scrub computers of private data and shred discarded papers with PHI can help you make confidentiality a priority in your office. If you’re using a third-party service to dispose of paper or digital records, review the disposal clause in your contract to ensure their processes are HIPAA-compliant.
Document Your HIPAA Practices
The Office of Civil Rights can audit dental and other medical practices for HIPAA compliance. Audits include desk audits and onsite visits of OCR auditors to your location. Keeping all of your HIPAA-related documents organized can help you prove you’re in compliance if you’re audited, making the process much smoother and quicker. Keep results of security risk assessments, proof of training, authorization forms, breach notification letters, and documents of complaints on hand.
Contact a Dental Practice Attorney Today
Complying with HIPAA can be challenging, especially for owners of busy dental practices. The attorneys at Mahan Dental Law are here to help dental practices ensure they’re complying with HIPAA and all other requirements. We will work with you to create a strategy for bringing your office into compliance with HIPAA. If you’re being audited or you’re facing a data breach, we can help you understand your legal rights and options while protecting your business and personal interests. Contact Mahan Dental Law today to schedule a complimentary case evaluation.
