In our series on the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Security Rule, this is the third implementation specification for the Administrative Safeguard Standard (Contingency Plan). This implementation specification is required. As HIPAA.com has noted in earlier postings, with enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on February 17, 2009, business associates also will be required to comply with the Security Rule standards, effective February 17, 2010. What to Do Establish (and implement as needed) procedures to enable continuation of critical business processes for protection of the security of electronic protected health information while operating in the emergency mode. How to Do It Covered entities are required to develop…
Tag: covered entity
Contingency Plan: Disaster Recovery Plan-What to Do and How to Do It
In our series on the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Security Rule, this is the second implementation specification for the Administrative Safeguard Standard (Contingency Plan). This implementation specification is required. As HIPAA.com has noted in earlier postings, with enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on February 17, 2009, business associates also will be required to comply with the Security Rule standards, effective February 17, 2010. What to Do Establish (and implement as needed) procedures to restore any loss of data. How to Do It The content and procedures of a covered entity’s disaster recovery plan will be » Outcomes of the covered entity’s identification of vulnerabilities and…
Contingency Plan: Data Backup-What to Do and How to Do It
In our series on the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Security Rule, this is the first implementation specification for the Administrative Safeguard Standard (Contingency Plan). This implementation specification is required. As HIPAA.com has noted in earlier postings, with enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on February 17, 2009, business associates also will be required to comply with the Security Rule standards, effective February 17, 2010. What to Do Establish and implement procedures to create and maintain retrievable exact copies of electronic protected health information. How to Do It Covered entities must backup electronic protected health information on a regular basis. When a computer system fails, it may…
Contingency Plan: Sample Policy and Procedures
This is the seventh Administrative Safeguard Standard of the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Security Rule. It has five implementation specifications: Data backup plan; Disaster recovery plan; Emergency mode operation plan; Testing and revision procedures; and Applications and data criticality analysis. The first three are required; the last two are addressable. Addressable does not mean optional. Rather, an addressable implementation specification means that a covered entity must use reasonable and appropriate measures to meet the standard. Further, as HIPAA.com has noted earlier, business associates also will be required to comply with the Security Rule standards, effective February 17, 2010. HIPAA.com will outline What to do and How to do it for each…
Contingency Plan-What This HIPAA Security Rule Administrative Safeguard Standard Means
This is the seventh Administrative Safeguard Standard of the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Security Rule. It has five implementation specifications: Data backup plan; Disaster recovery plan; Emergency mode operation plan; Testing and revision procedures; and Applications and data criticality analysis. The first three are required; the last two are addressable. Addressable does not mean optional. Rather, an addressable implementation specification means that a covered entity must use reasonable and appropriate measures to meet the standard. Further, as HIPAA.com has noted earlier, business associates also will be required to comply with the Security Rule standards, effective February 17, 2010. If a fire swept through a covered entity’s facility, the covered entity would…
One Week from Today: 5010/D.0 Final Rule Effective Date
They’re coming: the Ides of March (the 14th); NCAA Basketball Tournament Announcement (the 15th); St. Patrick’s Day (the 17th); and 5010/D.0 Final Rule Effective Date (the 17th). If you are a covered entity, Level 1 testing begins Tuesday, March 17, 2009. Here are five things you need to do to start. Conduct a Gap Analysis. What do I need to do to become compliant on January 1, 2012? That date sounds far off, but it will be here before you know it. Unlike previous transaction contingency periods for covered entities and their trading partners, HHS has indicated that there will be no tolerance for those not ready. Read the final…
Is Your Covered Entity Preparing for 5010/D.0 Testing? Part 2: Level 2 Testing
On March 17, 2009, the Final Rules for Modifications to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) become effective. HIPAA.com has available for download the final rules for 5010/D.0 as published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2009 (pp.3295-3328). The effective date is “the date that the policies set forth in this final rule take effect, and new policies are considered to be officially adopted.” [p.3302]. All covered entities are to be in compliance with 5010/D.0 on January 1, 2012. Testing can occur “from the date of the final rule until the compliance date for Versions 5010 and D.0.” [p. 3306] The Final Rules outline two levels of…
Is Your Covered Entity Preparing for 5010/D.0 Testing? Part 1: Level 1 Testing
On March 17, 2009, the Final Rules for Modifications to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) become effective. HIPAA.com has available for download the final rules for 5010/D.0 as published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2009 (pp.3295-3328). The effective date is “the date that the policies set forth in this final rule take effect, and new policies are considered to be officially adopted.” [p.3302]. All covered entities are to be in compliance with 5010/D.0 on January 1, 2012. Testing can occur “from the date of the final rule until the compliance date for Versions 5010 and D.0.” [p. 3306] The Final Rules outline two levels of…
Information Access Management: Isolating Healthcare Clearinghouse Functions-What to Do and How to Do It
In our series on the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Security Rule, this is the first implementation specification for the Administrative Safeguard Standard (Information Access Management). This implementation specification is required. What to Do If a healthcare clearinghouse is part of a larger organization, the clearinghouse must implement policies and procedures that protect the electronic protected health information of the clearinghouse from unauthorized access by the larger organization. Remember, a clearinghouse is defined as a covered entity, but also can serve in the role of a business associate to other covered entities, namely a health plan or healthcare provider. How to Do It This implementation specification is required, but is not likely…
Information Access Management-What This HIPAA Security Rule Administrative Safeguard Standard Means
This is the fourth Administrative Safeguard Standard of the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Security Rule. It has three implementation specifications: Isolating Healthcare Clearinghouse Functions; Access Authorization; and Access Establishment and Modification. The first is required; the second and third are addressable. Addressable does not mean “optional.” Rather, an addressable implementation specification means that a covered entity must use reasonable and appropriate measures to meet the standard. Further, as we noted in a posting last week, with enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, business associates also will be required to comply with the Security Rule standards, effective February 17, 2010. The covered entity is…