HIPAA Compliant? Think Again!

What Does It Mean to Be HIPAA Compliant? 

HIPAA compliance is not just about buying a book, completing a form online or buying insurance. It is a complete process which includes HIPAA Policies and Procedures, staff training, risk assessment, and cybersecurity. More importantly, the aforementioned items must be implemented. If you are missing any of these pieces, you are not HIPAA compliant.

The importance of cybersecurity in today’s environment cannot be overemphasized. Continuous monitoring and adopting a more proactive approach toward managing and protecting your network is crucial. Practices all over the country are being adversely impacted by malware, ransomware and data breaches. The impact of a cyberattack is debilitating, and will result in a major interruption in your practice. The attack often takes weeks to mitigate, leaving your computer network inaccessible.

An onslaught of malware has hit numerous practices, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages per practice. Hackers are actively targeting practices because they know they are easy targets. The wealth of information stored in your practice management software is a more tempting target than what is found in a typical corporate database. OMS practices often keep a complete health record, which facilitates the ease of identity theft. Patient records are highly valued by hackers, and are easily sold on the Dark Net.

Black Talon can help you with the following solutions:

• The HIPAA Security Rule requires you to train your staff on cybersecurity threats. We offer live training by experts in the field, which may reduce your threat by 50%.

• Performing internal and external vulnerability scans to help identify weaknesses in your network.

• Using an ethical hacker, we will identify weaknesses in your network that automated scanners cannot identify.

• Quarterly vulnerability scanning of both your firewall and your computers.

• A turn-key HIPAA solution, including policies and procedures, staff training & risk assessment.

It is important that you take a proactive approach to cybersecurity by utilizing a third-party company, one who specializes in dental cybersecurity, to test and validate your network security, to help protect electronic patient health information. Relying strictly on your firewall and IT company for protection is no longer adequate.