What we can see from these violations is that simply backing up your data – even with a HIPAA compliant cloud backup provider – isn't enough. These breaches have resulted in fines ranging from $3,500 to $160,000. One health system had to pay $1,040,000 following the theft of an unencrypted laptop and several organizations have violated the HIPAA Right of Access Initiative – designed to provide individuals with easy access to their health information upon request – under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Violations range from failures to implement HIPAA Security Rule requirements to data breaches due to inadequate security systems. The list of HIPAA penalties collected by the OCR in 2020 already exceeds $12.2 million – putting the average fine for non-compliance so far this year at nearly $1 million (about $938,000). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act states the rules about the storage of medical data and is very clear on the consequences of mishandling what should be protected health information. In addition, violations can even result in jail time for the individuals responsible. Penalties range from $100 to a massive $50,000 per individual violation – based on the level of perceived negligence within an organization – with a maximum penalty of $1.5 million per calendar year. So, it is really important for your economic and clinical health to choose the best hipaa compliant cloud storage services. The costs of non-compliance can be ruinous to an organization – and particularly small healthcare providers. Why? Because the privacy and security of that information is paramount to HIPAA compliance – and fines and penalties for violations are huge as they involve very sensitive data. Note: Many of the compliance items require usage of the optional private encryption key that is known only to you and not stored on IBackup servers.Large or small, all healthcare organizations need to spend time thinking about HIPAA compliant backup and file storage for their patients' health information. IBackup does not have access to the contents of the data files stored. Data will remain in the IBackup vaults for as long as the client chooses to retain it. Healthcare providers must retain health records (electronic, written and oral) for a minimum of six years in accordance with the HIPAA privacy final ruling. More importantly, access through the web does not permit a user to view the contents of data. Logical access to the data is strictly controlled, with a secure user interface, which provides the ability to set password policies and assign users rights to manage the backup of specific servers. Unauthorized access to individually identifiable health records is strictly forbidden, so care must be taken on how records are backed up, transported offsite and accessed to prevent unauthorized access.Ĭustomers’ data is encrypted and transmitted securely to a vault that resides at a world-class data center that is insured to provide data protection services.Īccess to the vaults and the data center is strictly controlled through administrative procedures, physical safeguards, and technical security measures to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of customer data. IBackup assists healthcare providers to be HIPAA compliant in these areas: IBackup provides critical data security protection without compromising patient privacy and can help customers achieve HIPAA compliance. As proposed, a HIPAA-compliant information system will need to include a combination of administrative procedures, physical safeguards, and technical measures to protect patient information while it is stored and while it is transmitted across communications networks. Healthcare organizations are required to individually assess their security and privacy requirements and take suitable measures to implement electronic data protection (both in transit and in storage). HIPAA requires the ability to establish and maintain reasonable and appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the information. The goals and objectives of this legislation are to streamline industry inefficiencies, reduce paperwork, make it easier to detect and prosecute fraud and abuse while enabling workers of all professions to change jobs easily, even if they (or family members) had pre-existing medical conditions. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), was the result of efforts by the federal government to ensure healthcare data practices permitted ease for patients to move jobs, insurance and healthcare providers.
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