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HIPAA compliance requires special focus and effort as failure to comply carries significant risk of damage and penalties. A practice with multiple separate systems for patient scheduling, electronic medical records, and billing, requires multiple separate HIPAA management efforts. This article presents an integrated approach to HIPAA compliance and outlines key HIPAA terminology, principles, and requirements to help the practice owner to ensure HIPAA compliance by medical billing service and software vendors.The last decade of the previous century witnessed accelerating proliferation of digital technology in health care, which, along with reduced costs and greater service quality, introduced new and greater risks for accidental disclosure of personal health information.The Health insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in 1996 by Congress to establish national standards for privacy and security of personal health data. The Privacy Rule, written by the US Department of Health and Human Services took effect on April 14, 2003.Failure to comply with HIPAA risks accreditation and reputation damage, lawsuits by federal government, financial penalties, ranging from $100 to $250,000, and imprisonment, ranging from one year to ten years. Protected Health Information (PHI) The key term of HIPAA is Protected Health Information (PHI), which includes anything that can be used to identify an individual and any information shared with other health care providers or clearinghouses in any media (digital, verbal, recorded voice, faxed, printed, or written). Information that can be used to identify an individual includes: Name Dates (except year) Zip code of more than 3 digits, telephone and fax numbers, email Social security numbers Medical record numbers Health plan numbers License numbers Photographs Information shared with other healthcare providers or clearinghouses Nursing and physician notes Billing and other treatment records Principles of HIPAA HIPAA intends to allow smooth flow of PHI for healthcare operations subject to patient's consent but prohibit any flow of unauthorized PHI for any other purposes. Healthcare operations include treatment, payment, care quality assessment, competence review training, accreditation, insurance rating, auditing, and legal procedures.HIPAA promotes fair information practices and requires those with access to PHI to safeguard it. Fair information practices means that a subject must be allowed Access to PHI, Correction for errors and completeness, and Knowledge of others who use PHI Safeguarding of PHI means that the persons that hold PHI must Be accountable for own use and disclosure Have a legal recourse to combat violations HIPAA Implementation Process HIPAA implementation begins upon making assumptions about PHI disclosure threat model. The implementation includes both pre-emptive and retroactive controls and involves process, technology, and personnel aspects.A threat model helps understanding the purpose of HIPAA implementation process. It includes assumptions about Threat nature (Accidental disclosure by insiders? Access for profit? ), Source of threat (outsider or insider?), Means of potential threat (break in, physical intrusion, computer hack, virus?), Specific kind of data at risk (patient identification, financials, medical?), and Scale (how many patient records threatened?). HIPAA process must include clearly stated policy, educational materials and events, clear enforcement means, a schedule for testing of HIPAA compliance, and means for continued transparency about HIPAA compliance. Stated policy typically includes a statement of least privilege data access to complete the job, definition of PHI and incident monitoring and reporting procedures. Educational materials may include case studies, control questions, and a schedule of review seminars for personnel.Technology Requirements for HIPAA Compliance Technology implementation of HIPAA proceeds in stages from logical data definition to physical data center to network. To assure physical data center security, the manager must Lock data center Manage access list Track data center access with closed circuit TV cameras to monitor both internal and external building activities Protect access to data center with 24 x 7 onsite security Protect backup data Test recovery procedure For network security, the data center must have special facilities for Secure networking - firewall protection, encrypted data transfer only Network access monitoring and report auditing For data security, the manager must have Individual authentication - individual logins and passwords Role Based Access Control (see below) Audit trails - all access to all data fields tracked and recorded Data discipline - Limited ability to download data Role Based Access Control (RBAC) RBAC improves convenience and flexibility of systems management. Greater convenience helps reducing the errors of commission and omission in granting access privileges to users. Greater flexibility helps implement the policy of least privilege, where the users are granted only as much privileges as required for completing their job.RBAC promotes economies of scale, because the frequency of changes of role definition for a single user is higher than the frequency of changes of role definitions across entire organization. Thus, to make a massive change of privileges for a large number of users with same set of privileges, the administrator only makes changes to the role definition.Hierarchical RBAC further promotes economies of scale and reduces the likelihood of errors. It allows redefining roles by inheriting privileges assigned to roles in the higher hierarchical level.RBAC is based on establishing a set of user profiles or roles according to responsibilities. Each role has a predefined set of privileges. The user acquires privileges by receiving membership in the role or assignment of a profile by the administrator.Every time when the definition of the role changes along with the set of privileges that is required to complete the job associated with the role, the administrator needs only to redefine the privileges of the role. The privileges of all of the users that have this role get redefined automatically.Similarly, if the role of a single user is changed, the only operation that needs to be performed is the reassignment of the user profile, which will redefine user's access privileges automatically according to the new profile. Summary HIPAA compliance requires special practice management attention. A practice with multiple separate systems for scheduling, electronic medical records, and billing, requires multiple separate HIPAA management efforts. An integrated system reduces the complexity of HIPAA implementation. By outsourcing technology to a HIPAA-compliant vendor of vericle-like technology solution on an ASP or SaaS basis, HIPAA management overhead can be eliminated (see companion papers on ASP and SaaS for medical billing).	 	 		 			 				 					 						Know any health care providers who complain about shrinking insurance payments and increasing audit risk? Help them learn winning Internet strategies for the modern payer-provider conflict by steering them to Vericle - Medical Billing Network and Practice Management Software, which powers such leading-edge billing services as Billing Precision (<a href="http://www.chiro-billing.com" target="_new">http://www.chiro-billing.com</a>), Billing Dynamix (<a href="http://www.pt-billing.com" target="_new">http://www.pt-billing.com</a>), and Affinity Billing, and is home for "Medical Billing Networks and Processes" book by Yuval Lirov, PhD and inventor of patents in artificial intelligence and computer security.

Electronic Medical Billing Software, HIPAA Compliance, and Role Based Access Control

HIPAA compliance requires special focus and effort as failure to comply carries significant risk of damage and penalties. A practice with...

Without a doubt, the technological advances in recent decades have been the most potent catalysts for our culture's return to working at home, because since the advent of the internet, the entire face of home based business has changed. There is now plenty of freedom in many industries to work from home because a person can do so while staying in touch with business associates, regardless of where in the world they are. In fact, the internet has made it possible for businesspeople to not only keep contact with existing clients and coworkers but also to find new ones, which means that business owners no longer even need to concern themselves with finding office space if they so choose. If working on your computer from the comfort of your own home sounds like an appealing business concept, browse the following list of some of the hottest computer & internet franchises available today and see if one of them is right for you. Vehicle Tracking SolutionsThis is one business that is all about technology and remote communication. Marketing without physical borders, franchisees with this home business sell GPS vehicle tracking systems to businesses with vehicle fleets that they have to manage and track. Whether the client is a large corporation that provides executives with company cars that must be kept track of or a shipping company with delivery truck drivers that need to be kept to task, Vehicle Tracking Solutions provides what client companies need: the hardware and software that can chart the location of vehicles anywhere. One of the only businesses that sells this kind of merchandise and the associated service, Vehicle Tracking Solutions franchisees have access to all the necessary avenues of marketing and sales in an almost entirely untapped market, making this a great franchise opportunity. Virtuoso MusicNo matter how far we travel into the virtual world of the internet, mankind will never be able to leave the wood and brass of real musical instruments behind, and as long as there is music, Virtuoso Music franchisees will have clients. Whether clients find the company via the internet or another advertising touch point, the primary work of the Virtuoso Music work at home franchisee is to link music instructors with students in his local community, serving as a liaison between people who otherwise may not ever cross paths. Similarly, franchisees also serve as the go-to person for local musical events ranging from bar mitzvahs to recitals and concerts. Given a proven business model designed to get the business moving from the get-go, franchisees are also provided with ongoing check-ins from the franchisor to continually refine all aspects of the business. L&W InvestigationsHaving just expanded from an independent operation to a franchise business, L&W Investigations is a one-of-a-kind internet-based business that specializes in the investigation of insurance fraud claims. Equipped with expert training, ongoing support, and professional-grade investigation systems, franchisees have no need to come to the table with past investigation experience; they only have to come with the desire to provide their clients with fast, efficient, unrivaled service and results. To date, there are 30 locations established in 23 states, so the timing is still perfect to get in on this opportunity at the ground floor. WSI InternetNow in its 11th year of business, Wsi Internet has spent the last 7 of those years at the top of Entrepreneur Magazine's top computer & internet franchises, proving that this 1500-franchisee-strong business is one of the most dominant names in internet marketing consultation. Whether franchisees decide to run their franchises from home or an office, by themselves or with others, the franchisor's system for finding and serving the needs of small and mid-sized business clients is always a successful one. Because the business model has been proven so many times for so many different businesses, the only thing that a franchisee must bring to the table is the drive to succeed and the diligence to follow the franchisor's directions and methods. Air AdvantageOf all the things to come along and make the internet even more convenient and helpful than it already was, one of the greatest additions has been wireless connectivity, but to date, not everyone has access to it. Actually, one of the least internet-connected populations in the United States is rural America, because lines simply haven't reached that far, but Air Advantage is trying to change that. Acclaimed by the US Chamber of Commerce, this company has developed a way to extend wireless internet technology into the farthest reaches of unconnected American rural areas. Having just gained a lot of ground in Michigan, the technology and business structure have been adapted to make national expansion possible for franchisees who are ready to be the forerunners of what is likely to be a nationwide success. Not all home business opportunities fully capitalize on the business possibilities of the internet, but these certainly do. If using the technology currently available to you to its utmost as you gain financial independence is of value to you, any one of these fine franchises is a wonderful way to accomplish that. So sit down, pull up a laptop, and get to work. 	 	 		 			 				 					 						Find more <a href="http://www.homebasedbusinessopp.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">home based businesses</a> including computer franchises and internet small businesses at <a href="http://www.homebasedbusinessopp.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Home Based Business Opportunities</a>

Today's Hottest Computer & Internet Home Based Businesses

Without a doubt, the technological advances in recent decades have been the most potent catalysts for our culture's return to workin...