"The Time to Prepare for a HIPAA Audit is Now" John Mulligan for Northern Ohio Physician

June 1, 2015

News

HIPAA audits conducted by the government are expected to begin soon HIPAA-covered entities (such as healthcare providers and health plans) and their business associates will soon face governmental audits of their HIPAA compliance. According to some sources, covered entities and business associates may have just two weeks to respond to the auditor’s request for information. As a practical matter, it will be impossible for a covered entity or business associate to bring its “HIPAA compliance house” in order within such a short period of time. Furthermore, reports have indicated that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services might disregard documents created or modified after receiving the information request. Therefore, the time to prepare for a HIPAA audit is now.

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Over the past 24 months, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has brought notable enforcement efforts against several non-profit covered entities and business associates, resulting in instances of six and seven-figure penalties against providers across the county for incidents involving breaches of protected health information.

A new amendment to New York state law, which would have required all healthcare providers to obtain separate consents from patients for treatment and payment is on hold until further guidance is released, according to the New York Department of Health.

On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule 2025 final rule, which establishes new advanced primary care management billing codes that will expand opportunities for physician practices, federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics and other health care providers to get paid for services provided by clinical staff under the direction of a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant beginning January 1, 2025.

"The Time to Prepare for a HIPAA Audit is Now" John Mulligan for Northern Ohio Physician

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