1. Five steps to achieving Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA) compliance
Anita Jones
MHA 690 Health Care Capstone
Instructor: Sherry Grover
May 27, 2013

2. I. Complete a Risk Assessment
Prepares an organization with a precise design regarding HIPAA compliance
Exposes strides to strategize toward compliance
Must comprise all mechanisms that generate, store, maintain, or transmit
ePHI
Fine-tuning the password policy, repositioning, covering, or utilizing a privacy
screen for the monitor
Devices not network-connected are not exempt from HIPAA privacy / security
regulations or the risk of compromise

3. II. Collaborate with Stakeholders
 Necessary among decision-makers for rewarding and
continuing changes to privacy /security regulations
 Protects against insufficient or unlikely standards
 Every department furnishes beneficial input to selecting the
proper mechanism and exposing all possible shared risks
 Accountability factor – discourages blaming within
departments

4. III. Craft Policies that Reflect What you Want to Accomplish
 Standards linked to HIPAA regulations must be system-wide and
satisfactorily encompassing
 Policy development and application must be a shared force
throughout numerous hospital departments
 Compose a comprehensive, hospital-wide procedure including
allowances for added degrees of protection

5. III. Craft Policies that Reflect What you Want to Accomplish
 Required specifications - needing proper evaluation, protections, and
obligatory applications per HIPAA Security Rule
 Addressable specifications - must be assessed for implementation and may
not be needed for risk reduction i.e., encryption (is broken with a password)
 Do not administer unfeasibly demanding self-regulation when privacy
policies are sufficient at a lesser level.
 Worse than having no policy is an unenforced policy

6. IV. Review Purchases of IT and Medical Equipment from a Risk-management
Perspective
 Request an adequate amount of decision-makers with the aim of emotion
being forced out by logic
 Consider financial matters when making capital-purchasing decisions i.e.,
buying price and total expense of ownership
 Consider security standards –is it built into the merchandise? How to connect
it to the network?
 Updated software is central to safeguarding privacy /security

7. V. Develop a Culture of Accountability
 Accountability beckons in return to collaboration
 Inspire departments to foster the practice of conveying difficulties
 Diligent efforts to achieve / maintain HIPAA compliance initially will
prevent catastrophic fines later
 Advance planning with collaboration reduces errors
 The occurrence of a breach is a learning opportunity for future
improvement

8. References
Reber, E. (2011). Five steps to achieving HIPAA compliance. Biomedical Instrumentation &
Technology, 45(5), 360-3. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/903774854?accountid=32521
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