HIPAA Compliance Checklist

 

As a covered entity, you're legally required to comply with HIPAA rules, including safeguarding patient health information (PHI). This includes encrypting and protecting PHI in your company's systems and policies. You must also follow appropriate policies for business associates who have access to PHI. Developing a HIPAA compliance checklist will help you gauge how ready your organization is to meet these requirements. The checklist will also include a breakdown of how to achieve compliance, and how to document your efforts.

Once you have a HIPAA compliance checklist, you should update it regularly to ensure that it contains all the steps you need to take. This will help you prioritize the measures to be taken, and avoid any potential sanctions for non-compliance. In addition, it will help you identify potential vulnerabilities within your organization that could compromise PHI.

You should also have HIPAA policies and training materials. All staff members should read the policies and be trained on the rules. Moreover, you should have a designated HIPAA compliance officer who conducts yearly HIPAA compliance training for your staff. Also, if you work with business associates, make sure you have a business associate agreement with them.

Another important item on the HIPAA compliance checklist is the Sanctions Policy. It defines the three categories of HIPAA violations and what type of sanctions are applicable for each. It should be included in your employee contracts and reviewed annually. Lastly, you should have a document of the risk assessments you've conducted. This documentation can help your company in case of an OCR audit.