We wrote about the HITECH act and its impact on business associates a little less than a year ago. By February 18, business associates are required to:
- Comply with the HIPAA security and privacy rules
- Provide medical information breach notifications
- Work with the Department of Health and Human Services to perform compliance audits as requested
- Train employees on HIPAA and its requirements for business associates
BAs, I hope you're taking note. Violations can incur fines for as much as $1.5 million per year and, in the most serious circumstances, may include prison time. According to HITECH, DHHS audits are also mandatory beginning 2/18/2010. (See sections 13410 and 13411). Most of the associates that I'm familiar with haven't made many changes in the past year to improve HIPAA compliance. So what should any self-respecting business associate, now subject to these somewhat draconian and certainly expensive rules, do to avert heavy fines and lost productivity? Avoid becoming a business associate at all costs. First, re-evaluate whether the business truly qualifies as an associate, for one. In the past, BAAs had very few directly applicable requirements, and those that were in place were rarely or never audited and enforced. Businesses should no longer haphazardly sign BAAs when they aren't strictly necessary. If the business has determined that they are indeed an associate, what can be changed to eliminate that status? If there isn't a dire business need for access to medical records, but they're being collected incidentally, eliminate that dependency and escape the compliance game. Of course, most health care organizations don't freely distribute health records, and most organizations don't want them unless they need them. If the business is resigned to being an associate subject to HIPAA courtesy of HITECH, it's time to get to work. Start at www.hipaasurvivalguide.com, an excellent resource for learning the regulation and applying its teachings. And never forget the old proverb (that I'm making up right now): more regulation always improves security. Emphasis added.