The healthcare industry uses email every day to store, distribute, and discuss critical information. Email has become a vital tool for communication supporting clinical and business operations. It has become one of the largest repositories of confidential files within any organization. Email can represent a significant risk due to lack of protection of its contents. Lack of encryption, misrouting of sensitive patient information, and hitting "reply" without ensuring the message is encrypted and directed to the correct email address will result in a violation of the minimum necessary standard. For those looking for viable solutions to provide greater protection of the sensitive information contained in email, Absio is well worth a look.
If you need to copy some medical records that include PHI, you're probably on point when taking steps to ensure privacy. You make sure no one's around. You grab the documents right from the copier when you're done, you don't forget the originals, and you take the records where they need to go. No one sees them. No HIPAA violations here.
Q: When you refer to a laptop being encrypted for security reasons, is that the same as password protected? We have a number of employees with laptops who transport them from work to home and are concerned about a breach if a laptop is stolen.
Ah. Breathe a sigh of relief, Mr. and Mrs. HIPAA privacy and security officer. Another year is winding down, and your facility hasn't suffered a major breach of patient information.
