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HIPAA is a regulatory law that protects the privacy of citizens and sets compliance requirements for handling personal health information throughout the healthcare industry. It is a deeply complex law with many different facets that can be difficult to learn and remember. This is why proper risk management in hospitals is so important; these routine assessments can help you to pinpoint potential HIPAA compliance issues and correct them so that your hospital and your patients are protected. This article will outline a few places in which many hospitals struggle to maintain HIPAA compliance, and how these issues can be corrected. Management of Electronic Information The world has gone digital, and so has the healthcare industry. It is now standard for patients' healthcare information to be available in electronic format. But while this may be very convenient, it also opens up many opportunities for information to be compromised. In order to remain compliant with HIPAA, you need to ensure that you are using a safe, secure system to manage all of your patients' information. Getting regular risk assessments can ensure that your system always stays secure and up to date. And if your system is not compliant with HIPAA for any reason, you can upgrade to a better one before any issues arise. Following Standard Protocols The best way to mitigate risks in a hospital setting is to have standard protocols for every situation imaginable, and to ensure that all of the necessary staff members are trained on how to follow these protocols. A regular risk assessment can help you determine if the protocols you have in place are effective, and will let you know if any employees need additional training in following these protocols. In the end, proper risk management in hospitals can truly make the difference between saving a life and facing a tragic outcome.
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