Description:

Maintaining the highest data security and patient privacy standards is paramount for healthcare organizations in today's increasingly remote work landscape. “HIPAA Compliance for Remote Employees” is a comprehensive resource that delves into the critical aspects of ensuring compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in remote work settings.

HIPAA of 1996 directs the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and implement regulations to protect the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information. The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) administers and enforces HIPAA Rules. Some violations of HIPAA Rules carry criminal penalties. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) enforces HIPAA criminal violations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on public health emergencies worldwide. The pandemic served as a wake-up call for global governments, organizations, and healthcare systems. It highlighted the importance of being prepared for large-scale public health emergencies, leading to increased awareness and investments in emergencies. Although this pandemic has ended, one effect remains: some covered entity and business associate staff continue to work at home or other remote locations where their duties involve receiving, creating, maintaining, and transmitting protected health information (PHI).

The pandemic forced many HIPAA-covered entities and their business associates to rapidly adapt to remote work arrangements to ensure the safety of their employees while continuing essential healthcare operations. Also, it forced organizations to make up protocols to protect PHI at remote locations virtually overnight with little time to train or properly equip workforce members. 

Meanwhile, Medical identity theft has increased the fastest growing form of theft, which occurs when someone's personal information, like their name, Social Security number, or Medicare number, is stolen. Criminals attack people of all ages and all walks of life. Fraudulent providers use those medical identities to get medical care, buy drugs, or submit false billings to Medicare/Medicaid under that stolen name. 

This webinar draws on remote work lessons learned during the pandemic to provide HIPAA compliance guidance for Covered Entities and Business Associates that continue working remotely with workforce members.

Areas covered: 

The New Normal in Healthcare

• Remote Work
• Hybrid – Remote and Office Workplaces

HIPAA Rules for Remote Work

• Key Privacy and Security Rule Safeguards

Remote Work Protocols

• Securing the Remote Workplace
• Remote Workforce Guidelines
• Remote Work Technology Considerations

Webinar Highlights:

• Learning the integration of remote work and hybrid remote-office workplaces.
• Understanding HIPAA rules for remote work on essential safeguards from the privacy & security rules.
• Prioritizing remote work protocols, secure workplaces, workforce guidelines, and tech considerations.
• Protecting PHI privacy from cybercriminals.
• Steps to avoid the impact of the pandemic.
• Guidance of remote work checklist.
• Provide, Maintain, and Update All Electronic Devices.
• Understanding Risk Management.
• Identifying healthcare information.
• OCR settles case concerning improper disposal of protected health information.
• Discussion on Medical identity theft: Identity of a patient, Identity of a provider.
• Guidance regarding methods for de-identification of protected health information following the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule.
• Establish procedures for the destruction of PHI.
• Maintaining the Organization's Secure Virtual Private Network.
• Risk Management safeguards PHI at remote locations.

Why should you attend:

Remote work PHI safeguards measure up to hard-learned best practices during the pandemic. Learning to protect PHI maintained, transmitted, created, and received by staff at remote workplaces, implementing essential security controls with learning best practices for remote working cybersecurity, and resolving the issues of two things needed for medical identity theft - Identity of a patient and Identity of a provider.

Who should attend:

• IT staff, senior management of Health Care Providers.
• Senior management, IT staff of group health plans.
• Health Plan Brokers and Third-Party Administrators.
• Business Associates and Board of Director members.
• HIPAA compliance officials, IT staff, and senior management.
• In-house and outside health law counsel.

Presenter Information:

Name: Paul R. Hales

Paul R. Hales received his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University Law School and is licensed to practice law before the Supreme Court of the United States. He is an expert on HIPAA Privacy, Security, Breach notification and Enforcement Rules with a national HIPAA consulting practice based in St. Louis. Paul is the author of all content in The HIPAA E-Tool, an Internet-based, Software as a Service product for health care providers and business associates.