Netzealous LLC -MentorHealth, Online
2018-02-26
Training Options Duration: 90 Minutes Monday, February 26, 2018 | 10:00 AM PST | 01:00 PM EST
Overview: This session will focus on the rights of individuals to communicate in the
manner they desire, and how a medical office can decide what is an acceptable process for
communications with individuals. The session will explain how to discuss communications
options with individuals so that you can best meet their needs and desires, while preserving
their rights under the rules.
With the new HIPAA random audit program now getting under way, and increases in enforcement
actions following breaches, now is the time to ensure your organization is in compliance with
the regulations and meeting the e-mail and texting communication needs and desires of its
providers and patients. You need the proper privacy protections for health information, and
the necessary documented policies and procedures, as well as documentation of any actions
taken pursuant to your policies and procedures. Your policies and procedures may need
revisions to maintain compliance in areas such as individual access of records and breach
notification. And, of course, you will need to train your staff in all the new policies and
procedures E-mail has long been a staple of people's lives, but as we move into the new digital age, it
seems everyone is moving to a new smart phone and wants to use it in all the incredible ways
it can be used for health care purposes, including the use of e-mail and texting. Doctors are
finding that texting is far more flexible, convenient, and effective than paging, and patients
want to be able to use short message texting for handling of appointments, updates, and the
like, where even e-mail or the telephone would seem inconvenient In order to integrate the use of e-mail and texting into patient communications, it is
essential to perform the proper steps in an information security compliance process to
evaluate and address the risks of using the technology. This session will describe the
information security compliance process, how it works, and how it can help you decide how to
integrate e-mail and texting into your organization in a compliant way. The process, including
the use of information security risk analysis, will be explained, and the policies needed to
support the process will be described But the process must also include consideration of various patient access requirements in the
HIPAA Privacy Rule. There are requirements to provide patients electronic access of
electronically held PHI which raise new questions of how that access will be provided and how
the information will be protected during and after access. There has long been a HIPAA
requirement for covered entities to do their best to meet the requests of their patients for
particular modes of communication, and using e-mail or texting is no exception The stakes are high - any improper exposure of PHI may result in an official breach that must
be reported to the individual and to the US Department of Health and Human Services, at great
cost and with the potential to bring fines and other enforcement actions if a violation of
rules is involved. Likewise, complaints by a patient if they are not afforded the access they
desire can bring about HHS inquiries and enforcement actions, so it is essential to find the
right balance of access and control HHS compliance audit activity and enforcement penalties are both increased, especially in
instances of willful neglect of compliance, if, for instance, your organization hasn't adopted
the complete suite of policies and procedures needed for compliance, or hasn't adequately
considered the impact of e-mail or texting on your compliance The session will discuss the requirements, the risks, and the issues of the increasing use of
e-mail and texting for patient and provider communications and provide a road map for how to
use them safely and effectively, to increase the quality of health care and patient
satisfaction. In addition, the session will discuss how to be prepared for the eventuality
that there is a breach, so that compliance can be assured Why should you Attend: Now that requirements for allowing patients electronic access to their health information are
in effect, and as patients increasingly come to depend on electronic communications, there are
new demands for communication via e-mail and texting. Patients don't want to bother with
secure Web-site-based solutions, they just want to use the tools they already use for
communication, and they have a right to communicate how they wish How can HIPAA requirements for privacy and security be reconciled with patient requests for
information provided by e-mail and text messages? This session will discuss the differences
between professional communications and patient communications, and how they must be treated
to best serve patients, most efficiently enable communications, and remain within the bounds
of HIPAA compliance The HIPAA Omnibus Update rules contained numerous changes to HIPAA Privacy, Security, and
Breach Notification rules that affect communication with patients and clients of health care
services, who often ask to communicate with health care offices via e-mail or text message.
Many of the policies and procedures in place at every health care-related organization should
have been reviewed and updated to meet the new requirements. Organizations need to understand
the various ways that health care communications can take place, and how patient
communications fit in with the HIPAA rules. They need to design and implement a patient
communication policy and plan, and train their staff on it, or they may face significant new
fines for noncompliance E-mail and texting present new challenges to health care providers, as there are
simultaneously new requirements to share information with patients, and a new enforcement
effort to ensure the privacy and security of Protected Health Information (PHI). Meeting both
challenges requires careful consideration of all the regulations and technologies, as well as
patient preferences and work flow Most HIPAA covered entities now face difficult choices between compliance and ease of
communication. Most organizations haven't updated their information security risk analysis or
policies and procedures and run the risk of breaches, rule violations, and fines in the event
of mishandling of PHI using these new technologies Areas Covered in the Session: Find out the ways that patients want to use their e-mail and texting to communicate with
providers, and the ways providers want to use e-mail and texting to enable better patient care Learn what are the risks of using e-mail and texting, what can go wrong, and what can result
when it does Find out about HIPAA requirements for access and patient preferences, as well as the
requirements to protect PHI Learn how to use an information security management process to evaluate risks and make
decisions about how best to protect PHI and meet patient needs and desires Find out what policies and procedures you should have in place for dealing with e-mail and
texting, as well as any new technology Learn about the training and education that must take place to ensure your staff uses e-mail
and texting properly and does not risk exposure of PHI Find out the steps that must be followed in the event of a breach of PHI Learn about how the HIPAA audit and enforcement activities are now being increased and what
you need to do to survive a HIPAA audit
Who Will Benefit: Compliance Director CEO CFO Privacy Officer Security Officer Information Systems Manager HIPAA Officer Chief Information Officer Health Information Manager Healthcare Counsel/Lawyer Office Manager
Speaker Profile Jim Sheldon-Dean is the founder and director of compliance services at Lewis Creek Systems,
LLC, a Vermont-based consulting firm founded in 1982, providing information privacy and
security regulatory compliance services to a wide variety of health care entities.
Price - $139 Contact Info: Netzealous LLC -MentorHealth Phone No: 1-800-385-1607 Fax: 302-288-6884 Email: support@mentorhealth.com Website: http://www.mentorhealth.com/ Webinar Sponsorship: https://www.mentorhealth.com/control/webinar-sponsorship/
|