By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    bowl of vegetable salad
    Raw Foods: benefits and harms
    November 9, 2021
    pros and cons of the keto diet
    Read This Before You Follow the Keto Diet
    May 18, 2022
    spinal cord injuries
    4 Potential Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries (and How to Seek Compensation)
    May 25, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    July 31, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Effective Healthcare Requires a Social Approach
    June 15, 2015
    CCBHCs
    2016 Excellence in Behavioral Health Program Design
    February 23, 2016
    conducting Clinical Trial
    5 Tips for Conducting a Clinical Trial
    April 21, 2024
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: HIPAA Compliance Breaches Higher Than Ever: What Are You Doing About It?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > HIPAA Compliance Breaches Higher Than Ever: What Are You Doing About It?
Hospital AdministrationMedical Ethics

HIPAA Compliance Breaches Higher Than Ever: What Are You Doing About It?

jennacyprus
jennacyprus
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

In 2015, we witnessed the highest level of HIPAA compliance breaches yet, and 2016 isn’t expected to be much better. Even if you’re a small practice, you’re not immune to security breaches, and you’re probably making more mistakes than you realize. It’s essential that medical professionals make it a priority to protect themselves and their practices from such mistakes.

In 2015, we witnessed the highest level of HIPAA compliance breaches yet, and 2016 isn’t expected to be much better. Even if you’re a small practice, you’re not immune to security breaches, and you’re probably making more mistakes than you realize. It’s essential that medical professionals make it a priority to protect themselves and their practices from such mistakes.

Since 2009, there have been more than 29.3 million cases in which a patient’s health records were compromised due to a data breach. In 2014, the number of data breaches jumped 138 percent from 2012. This doesn’t include the possible millions of compliance issues organizations face every day without reporting them. Experts predict that if every HIPAA compliance violation was reported, the number would be closer to 40 million.

This is a very serious matter. Compliance breaches not only put patients at risk, but also threaten your practice. When healthcare records are compromised, it can subject the perpetrators to lawsuits with claims as serious as medical negligence, which can result in a lost license.

More Read

Payer Trends Healthcare
Mid-Year Update: 4 Major Payer Trends
Ripping Off Medicare
How a Mobile Website Can Help Your Practice Get Noticed Online
Six Secrets to Ramp up Your Revenue Cycle
How Safe Is Your Hospital?

Many of these breaches are completely avoidable if professionals take the proper precautions and treat their patient records with utmost care and respect. Here are some of the ways healthcare providers can promote HIPAA compliance.

Recognize Common Breaches

One of the best steps you can take towards prevention is recognizing when and how breaches happen most. Here are some of the most common violations:

  • Disclosing patient information to a third party without permission
  • Failing to destroy outdated information
  • Making mistakes when filing paperwork
  • Incorrectly disposing of patient information
  • Failing to encrypt your computer and put up security measures to prevent hacking
  • Lost or stolen devices

Most of the time, human error is at fault, and working with your staff is the best way you can avoid these breaches and protect your patient information. Include the most common violations in training to keep all employees on the same page.

Update Company Policies

In an effort to keep your employees informed regarding common violations and prevention measures, update your company policies. Combining device scanning with workflow, policies, and procedures will help you establish a more complete picture of what changes need to be made. When policies are updated to meet the latest compliance standards, it makes keeping violations under control much easier.

Train Employees 

Hold regular training meetings in which you discuss the policies put in place and ensure employees are all on the same page. In addition to meetings, send out informational emails and documents to illustrate changes and updates and to underscore the importance of keeping up with these changes.

Trainings can become cumbersome and are often overdone, but this is one area of your practice you can’t afford to skip. You may even need to hire out for extra help in order to complete more accurate trainings and write policies that maintain current HIPAA standards.

When your entire practice is on board with the policies and standards, you’ll have a much easier time keeping information safe and secure. It’s not worth risking a lawsuit or possible license loss just to skip these trainings. If you want to keep your facility from becoming another statistic, you’ll do what it takes to make your facility comply.

TAGGED:HIPAA
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025
Telemedicine Apps
Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
Health
July 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Good News and Bad News for Young Medical Professionals

January 17, 2015

Head of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division Raises Concerns About Two Proposed Mega-Mergers Between Leading Health Insurers

November 20, 2015
denied medical claim
BusinessFinanceHospital Administration

Reducing Medical Denials Equals Increased Revenue

October 10, 2013
the right bed for managing arthritis
BusinessHospital Administration

Should Hospitals Design with Patients in Mind?

July 25, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?