For this assignment, you will create a written plan and a PowerPoint presentation. Based on the attached assignment you completed, you will now take the system that you selected for evaluation and cre

Healthcare Information System

Abstract

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the initial regulatory guideline that ensures the safety of patient information in the era of digital intelligence. The select health information system is Electronic Health Records (EHRs). EHRs is the electronic record where all the medical records of a patient, lab work, images, drugs and treatment plans are recorded. EHRs are used to manage clinical workflow and gather various medical data from individual patients over time in clinical treatment and healthcare management. It contains a wide range of patient-level information, including as vital signs, medications, diagnoses, lists of problems, demographics, and test results. There are several steps for performing EHRs audit in complaint with HIPAA. This research proposes an elaborate procedure of a HIPAA audit of an EHR system on step-by-step basis and the significance of a gap analysis. It also, discusses the HITECH Act Health Information Technology (HITECH) updates; too and how it is essential to be proactive in terms of adherence to the compliance and mitigation of risks.

Healthcare Information System

Introduction

The implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) has changed the manner in which healthcare providers handle and retrieve patient records. However, the more crucial part of this digitization is making sure that private information doesn't get into the wrong hands or be subject to theft or intrusion. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are national standards to protect health information, especially electronic recorded/stored protected health information (ePHI). In this regard, healthcare bodies should assess their systems regularly to be in compliance. A HIPAA audit is vital not only with the purposes of complying with the regulatory demands but to ensure the trust of the patients and to avoid legal penalties. This research highlights the HIPAA plan to audit an EHR system, the importance of a gap analysis, and the inclusion of new updates in the HITECH Act.

Planning the HIPAA Audit for an EHRS

One of the healthcare information systems includes electronic health record (EHRs). EHRs is the electronic record where all the medical records of a patient, lab work, images, drugs and treatment plans are recorded. EHRs are used to manage clinical workflow and gather various medical data from individual patients over time in clinical treatment and healthcare management. It contains a wide range of patient-level information, including as vital signs, medications, diagnoses, lists of problems, demographics, and test results (Wells, 2022). The process required to start the HIPAA audit of EHRs includes first starting with performing risk assessment to identify any potential vulnerability in the EHRs that could compromise sensitive data.

This step can be performed by outside organization that perform periodic audit to gauge whether EHRs is HIPAA compliant. Selecting interoperable and HIPAA-certified EHRs is the second phase for HIPAA compliant audit plan because it guarantees that the healthcare system is a meaningful platform that satisfies meaningful use (MU) requirements. MU supports interoperability, or the capacity of various healthcare systems to seamlessly share patient data (Wells, 2022). The third step for HIPAA compliant audit plan includes encrypting all PHI. This step is important as it guarantees safeguard to patient data while it is being sent and stored. The third process of the HIPAA compliant audit plan entails putting role-based access control into place to ensure that only authorized users may view and alter sensitive data, the fourth stage entails putting role-based access control into place.

Role-based access control must be implemented since it restricts network access, particularly for healthcare organizations that have several employees, contractors, and third parties. The fifth stage for HIPAA compliant audit plan entails providing staff with HIPAA compliance training since frequent training serves to emphasize the need of protecting PHI and guarantees that employees are prepared for future threats or emergency situations. In order to mitigate any suspicious activity, the sixth step plan that is HIPAA compliant audit entails setting up audit trails to track all logging of all system operations linked to PHI access. According to Tino et al. (2024), the seventh step entails designating a privacy and security officer who will be in charge of scheduling policy reviews on a regular basis, compiling a list of protections, documenting and addressing any breaches or incidents, and interacting with staff.

Role and Importance of GAP Analysis

An essential part of the HIPAA audit is a gap analysis. Gap analysis examines the current policies, practice, and controls of an organization with the needed standards of HIPAA in order to appraise any non-conformance of the organization with HIPAA standards. The process is initiated through benchmarking the existing operation against regulatory compliance. The weaknesses can be spotted in data encryption, employee education, access control, or notification of the breach. Identification of these inconsistencies is likely to result in formulation of specific corrective steps by the organization to achieve alignment of all its practices toward meeting the expectations of HIPAA (Wells, 2022). Gap analysis is especially useful since it facilitates the effective utilization of resources by an organization since the areas that are at risk are emphasized. It also creates a proactive attitude to compliance, so that the organization can respond to its weaknesses even before they translate into data breach or regulatory fines. Additionally, the gap analysis helps advance the task by identifying areas that require future policy, technological, and personnel training program modifications.

Incorporating HITECH Act Update

Enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act 2009 significantly expanded HIPAA enforcement and accountability. Another one of the primary changes brought forth by HITECH was the requirement of mandatory notification in cases of breaches, which means that covered entities must notify the affected individuals and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a breach involving unsecured PHI, and in some instances, the media as well. In addition, the HITECH Act multiplied the monetary consequences of non-compliance, where fines went as high as 1.5 million dollars each year per type of violation (Abbasi, & Smith, 2024).

HITECH also increased the powers of state attorney generals to enact and also makes the organizations not entitled to the federal stimulus unless they make a significant use of the certified technology in EH records. Such certified systems should possess such features and capabilities like data encryption; secure messaging and role-based access controls. Consequently, it is of paramount importance that every audit plan examines how the EHR system of the organization complies with these certification requirements and whether all privacy and security-related activities satisfy the requirements both of HIPAA and HITECH (Wager et al., 2021).

Conclusion

A HIPAA audit plan of an EHR system is important to all the healthcare organizations which want to ensure the security of the sensitive information about patients and avoid violating the contexts of the federal regulations. Businesses will be able to identify weak places, take subsequent corrective action, and enhance the general data governance processes by conducting a thorough audit and looking for gaps. The incorporation of HITECH requirements into the audit process also means that the organizations will be more than viable; they are in line with the current trends in the protection of information in the healthcare sector. Finally, compliance can be maintained through periodic audits and active improvement processes so as to eliminate data loss and maintain the trust of the people.

References

Abbasi, N., & Smith, D. A. (2024). Cybersecurity in Healthcare: Securing Patient Health Information (PHI), HIPPA compliance framework and the responsibilities of healthcare providers. Journal of Knowledge Learning and Science Technology ISSN: 2959-6386 (online), 3(3), 278-287.

Tino, C. F., Becker, A. C., Pereira, B., da Rosa Corrêa, L., Soares, M. L., & Nascimento, D. (2024). Ethical, legal, and information management aspects in the context of patient safety. Revista De Gestão E Secretariado, 15(1), 167-179.

Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., & Glaser, J. P. (2021). Health care information systems: a practical approach for health care management. John Wiley & Sons.

Wells, J. (2022). A Digital Checkup on HIPAA: Modernizing Healthcare Privacy Standards for Telehealth Services. Fed. Comm. LJ, 75, 227.