Yet most HIPAA non-compliance is due to poor systems and simple human error.

The good news is that this makes ensuring HIPAA compliance easier than you might think. Get your systems right, and you'll avoid most of the issues on this list.

Before we jump into the HIPAA mistakes you should look out for, let's take a quick look at your obligations.

HIPAA Compliance & Patient Privacy

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has two parts: the Privacy Rule and the Security Rule. Both are focused on ensuring patient privacy.

The Privacy Rule establishes patients’ right to have their protected health information (PHI) kept confidential. This means that patients’ details should only be shared with their consent and on a need-to-know basis.

The Security Rule requires you to protect electronically stored patient data from potential data leaks and breaches. This ranges from accidental data leaks, for example, where someone can see a caregiver’s screen while they view patient PHI, to the deliberate hacking of your software to access confidential information.

Understanding Your HIPAA Obligations 

Any company that works in healthcare, or stores or processes protected health information, needs to comply with HIPAA rules. In fact, here at ShiftCare, we also have to be HIPAA compliant, since our care management software stores patients’ care notes and plans.

This means that if you're a healthcare provider, home care provider, assisted living residence, or anyone else handling patient data, HIPAA compliance must be a top priority. You’re responsible for ensuring that patients’ private health information is only shared and accessed appropriately.

This includes running regular data risk analyses, using secure data storage, reporting data breaches, signing HIPAA-compliant business associate agreements with your service providers, making sure that only relevant staff members can access patient data, and ensuring that staff only view patient information when they need to and have consent to do so.

What Are the Penalties for HIPAA Violations? 

The current penalties for HIPAA violations range from $137 to $68,928 per violation, with annual maximums of up to $2,067,813. These numbers will be adjusted in line with inflation.

The amount you can be fined will depend on how aware you were of the violation, along with the actions you took to correct it. You can also face criminal penalties, with jail sentences of up to 10 years.

5 Common HIPAA Mistakes 

These mistakes regularly catch care providers off guard, leading to HIPAA violations.

1. Insecure Systems

Make sure your data storage system is HIPAA-compliant, complete with encryption and regular backups. And, if it’s provided by an external vendor like ShiftCare, both parties will need to sign a Business Associate Agreement.

2. Staff Snooping on Patient Records

This is one of the most common causes of HIPAA penalties. You can avoid it by providing comprehensive staff training and restricting staff access to patient details. The ShiftCare caregiver app will only allow team members to view the details of their scheduled patients.

3. Not Providing Patients with Prompt Access to Healthcare Records 

Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, patients have a right to view their healthcare records. Violations here often occur due to slow systems, so make sure your document storage allows you to easily provide patients with access to their records.

Use tools like the ShiftCare Connect web portal to instantly share care notes with patients and their approved loved ones.

4. Not Reporting Data Breaches in Time 

After discovering a data breach, you must submit a breach notification within 60 days. The only exception is if law enforcement asks you to delay doing so, which would normally be due to an ongoing investigation.

5. Insufficient Risk Assessments

Not conducting an organization-wide risk assessment won’t just leave you vulnerable to potential data breaches. It’s also a HIPAA violation in its own right.

Stay HIPAA Compliant with Care Management Software

ShiftCare’s care management software embeds HIPAA compliance into your processes. It allows your team to securely store, share, and access private health information, whether they’re in the office, assisted living residence, or patient’s home. 

With varying access levels, you can ensure that information is only viewed on a need-to-know basis. And, ShiftCare’s stringent security features will help you avoid a data breach or leak.

Take the risk out of HIPAA compliance. Try ShiftCare for free.

What is HIPAA compliance?

HIPAA compliance is the adherence to rules that keep patient health information private and secure.

How do I show HIPAA compliance?

You can show HIPAA compliance by implementing secure systems for patient data storage and access, such as using ShiftCare, providing staff training, and conducting risk assessments.