What is EHR?
EHR refers to an Electronic Health Record (EHR). EHR is a patient-centered, real-time record that makes it extremely simple for caregivers to access and update patient information.
It’s simply a digital version of a patient’s medical chart, but it extends beyond the data to provide a much broader picture of a patient’s health.
How is EHR important in the modern healthcare world?
EHRs are an important aspect of the modern healthcare world because
- It can store all of a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, prescriptions, treatments, vaccines, allergies, and lab results.
- We also provide details to providers with an evidence-based tool to make care decisions.
- An electronic system for storing and managing medical information in the 1960s was quite difficult but now it is easy to manage.
- In the 1960s only one healthcare organization used it due to the size and cost of computers at the time.
Some advantages of EHR is that health and treatment data can be created in a manner that allows it to be shared with users from many healthcare organizations. They’re designed to share data so that laboratories, specialists, pharmacies, and clinics have all the information they need to provide the best possible treatment to patients.
By standardizing data and making health data transfer even faster, EHR systems have transformed how medical data is collected and used throughout treatments.
Healthcare practitioners can now provide more efficient and precise care with ease. However, to protect the data they use, providers must still follow HIPAA requirements.
The following are some of the most common types of data maintained in EHR systems:
- Names
- Patient billing information
- Weight, body mass index (BMI), and body temperature
- Allergies
- Appointment History
- Complete Medical Records
- Physician notes
- Prescriptions
- Discharge summaries and treatment plans
What is HIPAA?
HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. In 1996, HIPAA was signed into law. Only the portability aspect protects the ability of people with current or pre-existing medical conditions to get health insurance.
It includes the uniform transfer of electronic data, including billing and other routine exchanges.
HIPAA Compliance- Audits, Privacy & Security Rule:
HIPAA has rights regarding personal health information about new patients. HIPAA Compliance includes the right to access the information.
Annual audits of the EHR system should be conducted to identify any gaps in adherence. All clinicians and relevant staff members should be well-trained on how to use the EHR effectively, as well as versed on HIPAA regulations.
For the privacy of data, physical, procedural, and technological security must also be implemented by all healthcare organizations. To maintain the confidentiality of patients’ medical information, it is more important to use security software.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA Security Rule are two separate rules.
The HIPAA Security Rule requires that all of this information be stored, accessed, and sent. Every healthcare organization is responsible for protecting patient healthcare data.
Regardless of whether they store that data themselves or use a vendor to process and store their patient records. The Department of Health and Human Services has produced a list of who must comply with the Security Rule.
What does HIPAA compliance manage?
HIPAA compliance manages that sensitive data is properly safeguarded. After all, covered entities are entrusted with sensitive information that should never fall into the wrong hands.
Nonetheless, healthcare providers and other entities must be allowed to exchange data with patients and other authorized parties. These workflows are necessary for conducting business and providing care. But they also introduce new flaws, which is why rules were created.
How HIPAA compliance ensures data security?
A HIPAA regulation imposes a system of checks and balances on covered businesses operations. It gives patients control over how compliant EHR system data is utilized.
HIPAA compliance also ensures that only legally authorized users have access to protected data. It lowers the risk of security breaches and subsequent, possibly harmful exploitation of personal information.
It is more vital than ever to safeguard information from being susceptible in an era. Where healthcare records are increasingly kept online and HIPAA compliance is required.
HIPAA Compliance EHR –
Some healthcare providers have made the mistake of assuming that HIPAA compliant EHR. But the reality is that your software is HIPAA-compliant does not indicate your company is following the rules.
There are a variety of behaviors that can lead to security and privacy. Everyone in your organization must understand their responsibility in maintaining HIPAA compliance. It can only be accomplished if expectations are conveyed to them.
How to secure your software is HIPAA Compliant?
Not all software complies with HIPAA regulations. The software you use for your EHRs must meet the following criteria to be compliant:
- All users must be given permission.
- Access is restricted to ensure that only authorized users have access to the information.
- A program of authorization monitoring is in place.
- A data backup strategy is in place.
- In the case of a breach, a plan for recovery is in place.
- An emergency mode is available.
- After a set amount of time, users are automatically logged off.
- All information is encrypted.
How does HIPAA compliance protect patients’ records?
HIPAA compliance is more than just having a compliant EHR system. To prevent significant fines in the case of random audits, healthcare providers must complete a risk assessment.
It includes physical, technical, and administrative security measures. They have in place to protect sensitive patient information regularly. EHR systems can improve healthcare, but they can put your practice at risk of unintentional breaches due to unauthorized access and cyber-attacks.
Fortunately, there is a technique to reduce the risks of non-compliance with HIPAA. Accountability may help you become HIPAA compliant.
The following is a list of the particularly listed entities:
Medical Plan:
This applies to all medical plans, whether individual or group. Regardless of who sponsors the plan as long as the plan pays for medical care? Some of these are included in this category and some exceptions may apply.
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision care providers
- Prescription drug insurers
- Health maintenance organizations
- Medicare
- Medicare advantage
- Supplement and long-term care insurers
Medical Plan Providers:
Any Medical plan provider who uses an electronic health record (EHR) for a normal medical transaction is a covered entity (CE) subject to HIPAA regulations. CE’s are healthcare practitioners who bill for their services.
Medical Plan Clearing Houses:
Billing services, reprising firms, and community health management information services are examples of health care clearinghouses. When they work in a fashion that gives them access to a patient’s PHI, the Privacy Rules apply to them.
Business Partner:
A business partner is a person or organization that performs services for a CE that includes the use or disclosure of a patient’s protected health information (PHI).
Business Contract:
When a covered organization utilizes a contractor or other non-workforce member to conduct BA services or activities. In that case, the rule requires the CE to have a contract that includes the required protections for HIPAA. EHR privacy safeguards compliance.
Conclusion-
HIPAA will compel nearly every healthcare provider organization, from the largest health plan for all clinics. It includes numerous levels of safeguards and protections that the majority of them do not have presently. By connecting healthcare data using simple drag and drop configuration, we help companies, products, and solutions access the right data, at exactly the right time.