Compliance Solutions
Healthcare Provider Relations (HCPR) understands that your success in the healthcare industry is dependent not only on your ability to satisfy your customers' expectations, but also on your ability to provide solutions that meet specific compliance standards. Healthcare Provider Relations (HCPR)' unique combination of assessment services, hardware applications, and software support tools provide you with everything you need, whether you're just breaking into this market or growing an already-established healthcare business.
The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandates how healthcare organizations store and transmit patients' health information. Two HIPAA rules impact the IT systems and software used by healthcare organizations: 1) The Privacy Rule and 2) The Security Rule.
The Privacy Rule establishes minimum standards with which healthcare providers must comply to safeguard the privacy of patient information. The Rule also confers the rights of patients to access and amend their health information, and to obtain a record of when and why their Protected Health Information (PHI) was shared with others.
The Security Rule requires that healthcare providers take specific administrative, physical, and technical steps to manage Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). Some of the basic security requirements include, but are not limited to:
- Adopting policies and procedures to protect the security of patient and enrollee information
- Developing and implementing data access control procedures
- Implementing technical mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access
- Establishing a reporting and response system for confidentiality violations
HIPAA requirements are designed to be technology-neutral and scalable. Since many of the requirements relate to policies and procedures, many providers achieve compliance with customized solutions that address a host of factors unique to their organization. Thus, the IT systems and software used must be flexible, configurable, customizable, and scalable so that the organization can realize compliance without major disruption to established processes.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the industry's membership organization, providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology and management systems for healthcare.
Founded in 1961 with locations across the United States and Europe, HIMSS is comprised of more than 20,000 individual members and over 300 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people. HIMSS helps guide public healthcare policy and industry practices through advocacy efforts and through educational and professional development initiatives.
Much of today's business community is searching for ways to cut costs while reducing the impact on the environment, and the healthcare industry is no different. Information technology has done much to reduce the amount of paper-related waste generated in the workplace, but at the same time, IT equipment creates other waste issues. Computers and electronic equipment use a lot of power, obviously; but the physical waste generated by obsolete or out-of-service equipment can pose tremendous environmental and health problems if not disposed of properly.
Smart information technology (IT) practices can reduce the environmental impact of conducting business, while still allowing healthcare organizations to cut expenses. With employee awareness and participation, even the busiest healthcare facility can adopt simple "green" strategies that require little to no additional equipment or labor expenditures.
Consider the following enviro-friendly IT strategies:
- Turn It Off: Reducing electricity consumption saves your business money and helps the environment.
- Activate the sleep settings on idle monitors and PCs – From one management console, IT staff can use commercial software to control the power management features among all networked computers.
- Replace power-hungry CRT monitors with more energy-efficient LED monitors.
- Consolidate: Converge multiple networks into a single, centralized infrastructure. Not only is this set-up more efficient to manage, but it reduces both power-use and the volume of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) created
- Deploy wireless networks to facilitate more flexible work environments and further reduce cabling and power requirements.
- Shop "Green": The types of products you purchase can have a great impact.
- Purchase Electronic Products Environmental Assessment (EPEAT)-registered products that conform to the IEEE 1680 environmental performance standard.
- Look for products that perform multiple functions instead of just one (for example, an integrated business platform that combines functionality of a router, firewall, VPN, Power over Ethernet switch, WiFi access point, telephony gateway, and voice messaging)
- Employ Virtual Communication: Throttle back on employee transportation costs and travel expenses
- Encourage secure telecommuting with VPN-based solutions
- Perform training, presentations, project collaboration, and other group activities with tele-presence technology that combines audio, video, and interactive elements and which reduces travel time and expenses (and environmental damage).
- Don't Throw It Away: E-waste can be a perplexing problem; it's loaded with toxic metals and organic chemicals that contaminate soil, water, and air. Until recently, over 90% of it was buried in landfill sites, incinerated, or recovered without any treatment.
- Dispose of end-of-life products and other e-waste at government-certified facilities that are licensed for both hazardous waste disposal and recycling.
Victor Nwigwe, Executive Manager
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