HITECH / HIPAA Newsletter June 2012

Welcome to our June 2012 HITECH / HIPAA Compliance Newsletter.  

The featured article this month is entitled  HIPAA Compliance: what to expect from an OCR audit?. Under section 13411 the of HITECH Act, the Secretary "shall provide for periodic audits" to ensure compliance with the Act. It is the Office of Civil Rights ("OCR") that has the actual authority (under the Secretary) for HIPAA audits and enforcement actions. In 2011, OCR contracted with KPMG to develop an audit methodology and to conduct 150 audits. These audits are well underway. This article discusses what you should expect from an OCR audit.

 The HIPAA Survival Guide is pleased to announce the release of our HIPAA Privacy Rule Checklist under HITECH. This product is now available on the HSG Store.

FREE WEBINAR: HIPAA Compliance: what to expect from an OCR audit?

This webinar explores the same subject matter as this month's news article. The next several HIPAA Survival Guide Radio Shows will do likewise. Obviously this is a topic that has gotten the attention of the industry. Our objective is to demystify what you can expect from an audit by clearly exposing what a HITECH / HIPAA audit must be based on, according to the relevant statutes and regulations.

Date: June 21, 2012. 

Time: 2:00 to 3:00 EST. 

To register Click Here.  

HIPAA Survival Guide Radio: Next Show

Our weekly radio show covers topics about how the HITECH Act is transforming HIPAA and: 1) exposure to industry thought leaders; 2) analysis of proposed and promulgated HHS/OCR rule making; and 3) a forum for sharing industry best practices. Here's the overview video. To participate via chat you will need to create a FREE Blog Talk Radio account. No account is necessary just to listen. Archived copies of shows will be made available.

To be reminded of upcoming radio shows Update Your Profile by selecting "HSG Radio Show Reminder." There is no show scheduled for May 4, 2012.

Date: June 1, 2012. 

Time: 3:00 to 3:45 EST. 

To listen Click Here. 

The featured article this month is entitled  HIPAA Compliance: what to expect from an OCR audit? Under Section  13411 of the HITECH Act, the Secretary "shall provide for periodic audits" to ensure compliance with the Act. It is the Office of Civil Rights ("OCR") that has the actual authority (under the Secretary) for HIPAA audits and enforcement actions. In 2011, OCR contracted with KPMG to develop an audit methodology and to conduct 150 audits. These audits are well underway. This article discusses what you should expect from an OCR audit.

The principal premise of this article is that determining what OCR will audit does not require a "crystal ball gazing" exercise similar to what occurred in the pre-HITECH days with the 42 Questions expose. How can we purport to eliminate the uncertainty? The answer to this question is relatively straightforward and something that all auditors of government regulations clearly understand: an OCR audit can only (by law) be based on the requirements of the relevant statutes and regulations under review.

  We use the Checklist Items from our HIPAA Privacy Rule Checklist under HITECH to walkthrough the auditable sections of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. We will also review the HIPAA Security Rule standards to illustrate obvious audit points. Finally, we will use our forthcoming Cloud, Social Media, and Mobile ("CSMM") checklist to illustrate more esoteric audit points which are nonetheless grounded in the foundational requirements.

 

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