Both CEs and BAs must adhere to HIPAA regulations whenever they collaborate with business associates (BAs), such as IT service providers, medical billing companies, and similar entities. Nevertheless, maintaining your integrity while avoiding penalties and fines requires keeping your practice compliant.
So, here are five strategies to get ready for a HIPAA audit if you want to make sure your practice passes the dreaded audit.
1 Train Your Staff to Comply with HIPAA
A crucial component of HIPAA compliance is training. Employees who don’t understand HIPAA will run the danger of breaking the law and failing the audit.
Keep copies of all training documentation to give to the OCR to reduce this risk. Additionally, make certain that each member of your team has received sufficient training so they can respond to any inquiries made by the auditor.
2 Perform a risk analysis
You must carry out your own risk assessment prior to your audit. By doing this, you can discover any privacy violations that you might have missed otherwise.
Your risk assessment should consist of a review of all required paperwork. The audit process will move more quickly and you’ll have a better chance of passing with flying colours if you have the necessary records on hand.
3. Make a Privacy and Security Officer appointment
Every organization that complies with HIPAA must appoint a privacy and security officer. This person will subsequently be in charge of proving that an effort has been made to comply with requirements.
It’s crucial to pick an officer who can handle a sizable percentage of the audit procedure when choosing an employee. They will be obliged, among other things, to compile a list of securities and safeguards, schedule frequent policy reviews, and document any breaches or occurrences.
4. Putting in place a HIPAA Compliance Plan
It’s time to create a HIPAA compliance plan that you can utilize to address these findings once you’ve independently completed a risk assessment and found any hidden violations.
Make careful to construct a schedule and include self-imposed deadlines for each change you intend to make while creating your compliance strategy.
You can explain your strategy to the OCR during your audit to show that you are committed to adhering to HIPAA regulations.