Know the Rules: Managing Health IT and HIPAA compliance

It is an exciting and dangerous time for health IT. Innovation is opening companies to new business opportunities, but without taking care to meet the legal and moral duties to protect the privacy of consumers, those advances can come with massive costs.

As patients and consumers demand more access to their health information via smartphone or tablet apps, companies can run afoul of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

Companies must ensure that they meet the standards of the HIPAA Security Rule regarding the security of electronic protected health information. The standards comprise a series of security safeguards to protect the confidentiality of health information available electronically.

Not complying with HIPAA can cost businesses. Since 2003, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has settled $67.2 million of claims against companies for HIPAA violations. This has included medical centers, group health plans, pharmacy and hospital chains, and small provider offices.

In 2016, the OCR issued guidance concerning the rights of patients to access their health information under the act. Despite the guidance, questions from the health IT industry remain. The App Association (ACT) Executive Director Morgan Reed addressed the issue in a statement issued at the time.

Recent regulatory shifts place greater value on the use of patient-generated health data by care providers. But, the companies that make the apps and devices that consumers find so useful must have clear guidelines to continue innovating in this life-changing space.

It pays to rely on health IT companies such as RxEOB that have heavily invested in ensuring the HIPAA compliance of their software and products. In an interview given to CanBiotech, Robert S. Oscar, CEO of RxEOB, addressed some of the steps our company takes to do so:

In addition, we have built-in (and maintain and upgrade) systems to assure that the appropriate safeguards are in place to send the appropriate types of data, use the appropriate delivery systems in order to stay compliant with the letter and spirit of HIPAA.

RxEOB’s pharmacy benefit portals and mobile application help health plans (including ACOs) and PBMs engage their patients for better pharmacy utilization and adherence, thereby improving patient outcomes and reducing overall health care costs

RxEOB supports millions of people who are covered by health plans and pharmacy benefit managers with web-based software applications that improve their understanding of their pharmacy benefits – which leads to better medication adherence, lower costs, and increased drug safety. For more information on how we can help reduce your overall health care costs, please visit:  www.rxeob.com or call 1-888-648-0989 ext. 226.