Healthcare Businesses: How Does Your Records Management System Hold Up?

Records management can be a daunting subject to discuss, especially when referencing any business in the healthcare industry. Healthcare operations, especially those dealing with patient information, are subject to many strict rules outlined under HIPAA. A significant amount of these laws and regulations involve the processes these businesses use when managing their records (particularly those of patients). Read on to gain a better idea as to whether your healthcare business is meeting the standards outlined in HIPAA.

Note: The following is not to be taken as legal advice.

records management

Those already in the business of healthcare and patient care administration are likely very familiar with HIPAA. For those that are not, HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It is comprised of two titles. The first regards the protection of healthcare insurance for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs. Title two is the section that applies the most for us. It establishes the standards for electronic health care transactions, including the processes businesses should be using to ensure that patient information remains confidential.

The act consists of several rules regarding the privacy and security of patient information, as well as the consequences of failing to maintain these rules. The HIPAA Privacy Rule sets the baseline for the national standards in the US for protecting medical records and other personal information that relates to health insurance plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and providers that conduct certain transactions digitally. The web page created by the US Department of Health & Human Services for HIPAA, also specifically notes that the Privacy Rule requires appropriate safeguards to maintain confidentiality of the patient. This includes when, and for what patient information can be used without authorization from the patient. In summary; it’s extremely detailed and extremely relevant to how many healthcare businesses operate on a day to day basis.

To try and summarize what you should be considering when developing your records management system, consider the following notes on HIPAA from the US Department of Health & Human Services on the safeguards that must be maintained (outlined within the Security Rule);

  1. Ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all e-PHI (electronic protected health information) they create, receive, maintain or transmit.
  2. Identify and protect against reasonably anticipated threats to the security or integrity of the information.
  3. Protect against reasonably anticipated, impermissible uses or disclosures.
  4. Ensure compliance by their workforce.

HIPAA goes so far as to provide businesses with a risk assessment tool to determine the level of risk within the current record management system regarding data breach. If your healthcare business is questioning the integrity of its records management protocols, this is the first place to start!

If you’re still looking for advice, Augusta Data Storage is proud to offer solutions compliant to internationally recognized data storage and destruction associations such as NAID, ARMA and PRISM. Don’t hesitate to contact us today to discuss your concerns and needs, and together we can explore possible solutions for your business.