Archive for the ‘HIPAA regulations’ tag
Answer to the Most Common HIPAA HITECH Question
Are new business associate agreements needed with the coming HITECH deadline?
This is probably the most common question I get asked these days. There are two camps of thought.
- Many business associate agreements are written with “evergreen” language that automatically incorporate any future changes to HIPAA regulations. So – you could make an argument that the HITECH changes are incorporated by reference. While technically accurate, I think it’s a risky path to take.
- Contracts tend to be relied on when things go wrong – such as if there is a breach of PHI. In that situation, both parties will be better served if the agreement lays out specifically what should occur and where responsibilities lay. If it’s gray – you’ll spend precious time arguing over who should do what and who should pay for it. Better to have that debate now - before the unpredictable happens.
Having an agreement discussion has the positive side effect of forcing organizations to consider the potential risks and liabilities of a breach and taking proactive steps to ensure the risk is minimized in the first place – which is a good thing for everyone.
For specific information concerning the upcoming HIPAA changes, here are a few resources -
To report a breach to the HHS, go to: http://transparency.cit.nih.gov/breach/index.cfm.
Learn about our HIPAA training and learning services by going to: www.hipaarx.net.
Please send questions and comments to info@hipaarx.net or call 866.447.2211.