HIPAA Audits Looming But Small Practices Far From Compliant

NueMD in partnership with Porter Research and The Daniel Brown Law Group, recently announced the results of its recent survey on HIPAA compliance within small practices and billing companies. The survey of more than 1,100 health care professionals, conducted during October 2014, found medical practices and billing companies are struggling to comply with regulations under HIPAA.

"Understanding HIPAA can be difficult for practices and billing companies, especially if they're already scrambling to keep up with changes like ICD-10 and meaningful use," says Caleb Clarke, sales and marketing director at NueMD. "With audits looming, we wanted to get a sense of where the industry stands and provide resources to help those who may be struggling."

The survey found the following:

• 66% of respondents were unaware of HIPAA audits;
• 35% of respondents said their business has conducted a HIPAA-required risk analysis;
• 34% of owners, managers, and administrators reported that they were "very confident" that their electronic devices that contain PHI were HIPAA compliant;
• 24% of managers, owners, and administrators at medical practices reported that they've evaluated all of their business associate agreements; and
• 56% of office staff and (nonowner) care providers at practices said they've received HIPAA training in the last year.

"It's troubling to see that so many practices aren't participating in training programs for their staff, says Daniel Brown, managing shareholder at The Daniel Brown Law Group. "If an audit were to occur at that particular practice, one of the biggest red flags is that the staff is unaware of the HIPAA compliance plan and what their role is in it."

NueMD has published the results in an easy-to-consume narrative that explains aspects of HIPAA compliance, presents the data, and offers resources for practices and billing companies who want to learn more. To view the results, visit www.nuemd.com/hipaa/survey.

A 2016 survey update is available at www.nuemd.com/hipaa/survey/2016/.

Source: NueMD