Dec 14, 2020 | Live Compliance, Medical Billing Software Blog, Partner, Support and Training
There are a few HIPAA items to focus on RIGHT NOW—before the end of 2020!
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has designated the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” (HIPAA) as the national standard for protecting the privacy and security of health information (in 1996). This led to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), which has a provision in it for audits, and the HHS Office for Civil Rights is responsible for carrying out HIPAA audits, and responding to complaints and breaches. Ignoring them is not an option!
A Risk Assessment IS NOT Enough
A risk assessment is only one element of the compliance process. You must also “implement security updates as necessary and correct identified security deficiencies.” In other words, you must act via a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and follow the required risk assessment process.
Dark Web
It is no secret that the “Dark Web” is a scary place to lose your information. So, what if it did happen and affected your entire company? Identity thieves get anywhere from $1-$1,000 for medical records, for each instance! So, how can you protect yourself and/or your organization?
Well, data breaches are becoming more common—sometimes which are out of your control—so carefully monitoring where you store and enter your passwords can be extremely beneficial to help minimize the risk of a hack and keeping personal or patient information protected.
One solution for this is the automatic Dark Web monitoring built into the portal of one of EZClaim’s partners, Live Compliance. Their solution helps keep an ‘eye’ on employees whose information was involved in a breach, and suggests next steps to take where the breach was found. Then, it allows your to conduct an accurate and thorough Security Risk Assessment. This is not only required, but is a useful tool to expose potential vulnerabilities, including those that involve password protection.
So, what can I do to ensure this doesn’t happen to me or my organization? Well, Live Compliance makes checking off your compliance requirements extremely simple by providing:
● Reliable and effective compliance
● Completely online, our role-based courses make training easy for remote or in-office employees
● Contact-free, accurate Security Risk Assessments are conducted remotely. All devices are thoroughly analyzed regardless of location.
● Policies and procedures are curated to fit your organization, ensuring employees are updated on all workstation use and security safeguards in the office, or out. It is updated in real time.
● An electronic document is sent to employees and business associates
So, don’t risk your company’s future, especially when Live Compliance offers a FREE Organization Assessment to help determine your company’s status.
For additional details, call them at 980.999.1585, e-mail them, or visit their website at LiveCompliance.com
[ Article provided by Jim Johnson of Live Compliance ].
ABOUT EZCLAIM:
EZClaim is a medical billing and scheduling software company that provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, they help improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, e-mail them, or call a representative today at 877.650.0904.
Nov 10, 2020 | Administrative Safeguards, Cloud Security, EZClaim Cloud, HIPAA, Live Compliance, Medical Billing Software Blog, Partner
As 2020 comes to an end, the last thing on anyone’s mind is what operating system is installed on their computers. However, many are unaware that Windows 7 end of life happened over 10 months ago, and according to Microsoft, “If you are still using Windows 7, your PC may become more vulnerable to security risks.”
When an operating system reaches the end of its lifecycle, servicing and support is no longer available for the product. This means, Microsoft no longer releases important security updates or technical support for any issues! In addition to that, the antivirus software, “Microsoft Security Essentials,” is also unavailable, and they are warning that, “Windows 7 users will be at greater risk for viruses and malware.”
As a result, possibilities of exploitation of private and sensitive data and information is increased, which makes it even more easily accessible to lurking hackers. The Windows 10 update is a safer solution for the common user, but there are still some steps that both Covered Entities and Business Associates should take in order to remain in compliance with privacy settings and HIPAA Rules and Regulations after making the upgrade.
One of EZClaim’s partners, Live Compliance, is an expert in determining compliance, and have offered to help. In addition to upgrading your machine to the latest version, the Live Compliance team of HIPAA and HITECH experts will also ensure that your computer meets all other important compliance requirements, and is safe from other common vulnerabilities.
So, if you have questions regarding your organization’s compliance, Windows 7 end of life, or even assistance in setting up Windows 10, contact Live Compliance at 980.999.1585, or e-mail Jim Johnson.
[ Article contributed by Jim Johnson of Live Compliance ]
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ABOUT EZCLAIM:
EZClaim is a medical billing and scheduling software company that provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support, and can help improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit their website, e-mail them at sales@ezclaim.com, or call a representative today at 877.650.0904.
Aug 11, 2020 | ChartSwap, Partner
An online “Health Information Exchange” (HEI) can be the answer to managing the release-of-information (ROI) process completely digitally.
Many healthcare providers are spending a significant amount of time and money on fulfilling requests for medical and/or billing records. Outdated and inefficient modes of technology like printers, postal mail and fax machines make up much of that cost. Time spent on having employees complete record fulfillment operation—or money spent on working with third-party release-of-information (ROI) companies—add significantly to strains on manpower and/or budgets. Then add in the money spent on postage and in-office time spent responding to status calls, and you have a significant cost center that is not benefitting your business.
In today’s digital world, both businesses and consumers expect efficient, safe, online transactions. While the healthcare industry had a longer grace period for digital transformation initiatives, a new survey reveals that 75% of people now expect the same service from healthcare organizations that they receive from other businesses. This is driving many organizations to re-think the current, highly ROI process and seek a simple, secure, and more cost-effective digital ROI solution.
Utilizing an online Health Information Exchange may be the answer to your problems. By utilizing the FREE proprietary software that the country’s fastest growing HIE, ChartSwap, healthcare entities can manage the ROI process completely digitally in a HIPPA- and HITECH-compliant, SOC 2, Type II-certified and conveniently cloud-based environment. In addition to eliminating the need for paper, printers, postage, and other unnecessary and inconvenient expenses, ChartSwap allows records providers to conduct all communication with requestors 100% online without the security concerns associated with e-mail.
ChartSwap users set their own fees and can quickly and conveniently collect payments electronically via either credit card or PayPal (which includes the option for ACH transfer). Over 90% of ChartSwap requestors use online payment methods, and for the few who still prefer to send a paper check, ChartSwap handles the receipt and processing of those payments on your behalf. That means that 100% of your payments for medical and billing records will be handled by the ChartSwap platform—at absolutely no cost to you!
Using ChartSwap has been shown to improve employee productivity by 50% or more, thanks to ChartSwap’s advanced digital workflows, automatic status alerts, and fully online communication model. Additionally, the turnaround time for fulfilling records requests via ChartSwap can be as quick as two days and rarely exceeds 14 days—that’s more than 50% faster than the turnaround time on requests fulfilled by traditional methods.
To learn more about taking back control of your office’s record fulfillment operations, and turn this cost center into a profit center, visit ChartSwap today.
ChartSwap is a partner of EZClaim, a medical billing software solution. For more details about EZClaim, visit their website at EZClaim.com
