{"id":8323,"date":"2019-05-29T16:01:27","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T23:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/?p=8323"},"modified":"2024-04-08T13:56:57","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T20:56:57","slug":"hipaa-training-and-data-breaches-are-you-protected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/hipaa-training-and-data-breaches-are-you-protected\/","title":{"rendered":"HIPAA Training and Data Breaches: Are You Protected?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In November 2018,<\/span> 3,230,063<\/span><\/a> health care records were exposed, stolen or disclosed without permission, according to the HIPAA Journal. Despite efforts to protect medical records and make sure employees understand what can and cannot be disclosed, breaches continue to occur.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite an emphasis on cybersecurity, November 2018 was not only the worst month of the year but the second consecutive month there was an increase in breaches and record exposures.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are alarming statistics. In the first half of 2018, there were fewer exposures<\/span> in total than in just November alone. Since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was made into law in 1996, patients were assured this would protect the privacy of their medical records and ensure the confidentiality of their medical information. Even though<\/span> electronic medical records<\/span><\/a> were being used in the 1970s, it was the common use of computers in the 1990s that made electronic medical records widespread.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the internet became the way for medical systems and offices to communicate, the possibility of record breaches became a real problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone has while some people have heard of HIPAA, but most people don\u2019t they may not really understand what it means in detail other than it should protect their records from unauthorized views, keep medical information confidential unless they give permission otherwise, and allow patients to view their own records. From the perspective of an employer,<\/span> HIPAA<\/span><\/a> is a complex and constantly changing law requiring ongoing employee training to ensure the number of breaches does not keep increasing.<\/span><\/p>\n

For employers, data breaches are costly and damaging to their reputations.<\/span> HIPAA violations<\/span><\/a> can be as high as $50,000 per occurrence with a maximum penalty of $1.5 million per violation.<\/span><\/p>\n