What happens if an employee breaches HIPAA law?
The law offers some grace if you can show that the employee didn’t purposefully or maliciously breach a patient’s private information. The penalties are very steep, so it is best to ensure that your employees are aware of their actions. And that they know what is considered a HIPAA violation.
What are the HIPAA guidelines for an employer?
Importantly, a few HIPAA guidelines for employers exist. Whatever you do, never call an employee’s health care service provider. Just don’t do it. If you require medical exams as part of an employee health program or as a requirement for a job offer, keep medical information segregated from traditional employee records.
Who was the first healthcare employee to be jailed for HIPAA violation?
Huping Zhou accessed the records of patients without authorization 323 times after learning that he would soon be dismissed. Dr. Zhou became the first healthcare employee to be jailed for a HIPAA violation and was sentenced to four months in federal prison.
How many health records have been compromised by HIPAA?
Since 2011, over 21,000,000 health records have been compromised. Dental and orthodontic practices are well-known targets for hackers because of relaxed security practices that leave networks easy to exploit. Assured Tech Services is trained to manage and mitigate a HIPAA breach.
What to do if your employee committed a HIPAA violation?
You found out recently that one of your employees committed a HIPAA violation. Although all of their background knowledge from the training you gave them on the law tells them what is and isn’t allowed, they made a mistake.
How often do HIPAA breaches happen in a day?
HIPAA breaches happen at a rate of 1.4 times per day. So even if you haven’t experienced a violation, it’s important that you know how to handle them properly, including how to discipline your employees. It’s not easy to discipline your employees for something they did on accident, but you simply can’t let HIPAA violations slide.
What are the worst types of HIPAA violations?
Unfortunately, employees may sometimes go out of their way to harm the individuals coming to your organization by accessing their PHI for ulterior reasons. Level 3 breaches happen when an employee… This is the worst type of violation that could occur due to an employee.
What are the settlement amounts for HIPAA violations?
The settlement amounts reflect the seriousness of the violation, the length of time the violation has been allowed to persist, the number of violations identified, and the financial position of the covered entity/business associate.