About HIPAA

As expected, the Omnibus Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on Friday, January 25, 2013.  The Blogosphere, WebinarSphere, SocialMediaSphere and many other sSpheres are lit up with advice, analysis, tips, tools and tricks!  In this brief post, we provide what will hopefully help those in the trenches work these issues with some ways to get C-Suite attention.

Top 8 Reasons Executives Need a HIPAA-HITECH Update Due to Omnibus Final Rule

Download the final omnibus rule here.

The Clearwater Compliance team will provide continued analysis over time. Watch this space! Meanwhile, here they are:

Fundamentally, it’s business risk management game-changer

1. Significant Breach Notification Rule changes → More incidents likely reportable; need to update Policies & Procedures  (PnPs) and develop “compromise assessment” process
2. Many Privacy & Security Rule Changes → significant updates needed to PnPs
3. BAs (now includes their subcontractors) are directly liable → Covered Entities are liable for the acts of their BA that are “agents” requiring greater monitoring by the CE/BA → Agreements must be modified with focus on indemnification and federal common law of agency
4. HIPAA enforcement dramatically moving to penalty-based → Required HHS investigations and maximum penalties in certain situations/Penalties put more emphasis on progress of compliance programs
5. Expanded Patients’ rights → Requests for eCopies of any PHI stored electronically (and fewer days to respond to requests)/Certain requests for restrictions must now be honored & documentation maintained/More flexibility regarding requests for decedents health information
6. New marketing rules around authorization for subsidized treatment communications → PnPs and forms need to be updated
7. Totality of HIPAA Changes → all Notices of Privacy Practices must be revised.
8. Compliance with new requirements is required without delay → lots of work to complete by September 23, 2013.

Subscribe to our e-newsletter and blog posts to stay informed on the latest in HIPAA and HITECH news. You can also:

Attend Live Webinars  and On-Demand Webinars for practical application of  the Omnibus Final Rule.

Download the White Paper for HIPAA Business Associates (And Agents & Subcontractors).

Learn how Clearwater Compliance can help you become and remain compliant with HIPAA-HITECH. Watch our live or on-demand software demonstrations.