The Datamax Thinking Blog

2018 was a record breaking year for OCR enforcement of HIPAA fines and settlements.

When it comes to HIPAA violations, healthcare organizations for years have gone the way of the ostrich, burying their heads in the sand at the prospect of facing penalties from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

But if the last year proved one thing, it’s this: You can run, but continuing to hide is a potentially costly risk. 

The right technology partner can ensure long-term wellness for your organization: From security/compliance peace of mind, to highly efficient workflow processes and optimal uptime on your fleet of equipment. 

An annual check-up is a routinely prescribed course of action for adults to ensure long-term wellness. But that’s not the end-game.

True wellness is not defined by any one current ailment or appointment; it’s an actively pursued goal of maintaining good health based on a myriad of ongoing good habits. To ensure overall wellness for their print fleet, a healthcare organization needs much more than an annual checkup.

Paired with a barrage of potential threats, yet brimming with productive potential, technology plays an intimate role in the routines of today’s business workday. When well harnessed, it can unlock unforeseen competitive advantages.

Henry Ford once said, "I don't read history. That's in the past. I'm thinking of the future."

Ford, of course, was the Michigan-born engineer who developed a petrol-driven quadricycle into a small car; this proved the basis for the famous Model T motor car introduced in 1908. Just as Ford’s ingenuity forever transformed the auto industry, technology has been a driving force in business transformation for years.

As we look at the state of technology as it relates to business in 2019, Ford’s quote has a profound foreshadowing effect.

Your plan should begin with a Security Risk Analysis. It should also continue with the construction of a long-term compliance framework, one that offers visibility into current risks and reinforces firm security-related policies and procedures. 

When it comes to your healthcare organization and HIPAA, failure (to comply) is not an option.

The multifunction copier is covered in the Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and the HIPAA Security Rule. It's considered a machine that stores, transmits, receives, or creates protected health information.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is 20 years old, so you have a lot of experience with following its requirements. Your healthcare office has several security measures in place to stay HIPAA compliant, but you may be overlooking a key area: your digital copiers. Here are a few ways you could be compromising your patients' health information due to this oversight.

To comply with HIPAA, you must ensure PHI confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This means that the data is only available and alterable by authorized persons or processes.

Every modern office has a copier, and if it's a doctor's office, it must be HIPAA compliant. While multifunction copiers can be HIPAA compliant, none of them are compliant out of the box.

There are a few unscrupulous dealers that will say that their copiers are HIPAA compliant out of the box, hoping to capitalize on doctors and hospitals that want to get compliant as fast as possible by making a simple purchase.

HIPAA is not defined by technology, but by the policies and procedures that secures a patient's protected health information (PHI). To comply with HIPAA, you must ensure PHI confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This means that the data is only available and alterable by authorized persons or processes.

Physicians who fail to protect patient privacy face serious consequences. Security breaches bring bad press, and related fines range from $100 - $50,000 for each violation.

Office equipment has been transformed in recent decades. Today, state-of-the-art technology is available at affordable prices, and many physicians are taking advantage of the convenience and efficiency of digital copiers, scanners, and printers.

However, the new technology is not without risk. Digital equipment, such aa multifunction copiers, stores patient health information that is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Users must take steps to protect patient privacy from the hackers who wish to exploit it.

While many companies express a desire to effectively manage HIPAA requirements, they’re worried they’re not always doing it perfectly.

By now, I think everyone has signed (or ticked the box if your doctor uses a tablet) a HIPAA form. Most of us know it has “something” to do with privacy, but we simply sign the form and then shuffle back to a seat to await our appointment.

For those of you who provide healthcare services; it’s not as simple as that.