Documentation is Vital for HIPAA Compliance

Phase II HIPAA audits are coming soon, and while each individual hospital has a very small chance of actually being the subject of an audit, it is still important to be prepared. Therefore, facilities should regularly make sure that they stay up to date with documentation to meet all of the HIPAA compliance standards in case of an audit.

Here’s a quick checklist that will help you with the documentation process to make sure you’ve met your compliance standards:

• Make sure that all of the action items that are indicated in a security risk analysis are either scheduled to be complete or have already been completed.
• If your facility decided not to implement any of the addressable implementation standards of the security rule, then you must provide clear documentation that explains and justifies the decision to do so.
• Make sure that you have been implementing and approving HIPAA policies and procedures on a regular basis and that you are updating your files as they are implemented. This will show that you have been active in meeting your compliance standards.
• Put together a detailed breach response plan to meet everything discussed in the new risk assessment standards that were laid out in the HIPAA Final Rule.

The audits that occur during the second phase will mostly consist of desk audits, which focus only on documents. There will not be any onsite auditing performed during this phase. This makes thorough documentation even more important.

For more information on phase II audits and documentation tips, get in touch with the experienced New Jersey health care attorneys at Buttaci Leardi & Werner, LLC.

Tagged with: compliance, HIPAA

• Posted on: May 5 2015