Sometimes what looks easy is quite complex. Take, for example, the Healthcare Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act.

It has been around since 1996 but many DMEs still may not understand how important it is to follow certain principles to maintain accreditation.

As I was perusing the Internet, I came across an important-to-read healthcare blog by Steve DeGenero, Director of Survey Services, for Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA), Waterloo, Iowa.

In his blog, DeGenero emphasizes the importance of “maintaining secure medical records.” Companies should have policies and procedures for dealing with the protection of patient records, controlling who at the company has access to the records, how records are stored, and how and when information is disclosed to outside entities.

PERFORM REGULAR SELF-AUDITS

DeGenero suggests conducting a quick self-audit of your business to ensure you are compliant, paying careful attention to the following common challenges:

1. Make sure patient lists, delivery schedules, and maintenance records are not posted or hung up in areas where public or vendors can see them.
2. Are computer screens set up in such a way that customers can’t see them over a counter?
3. When staff leaves their office, cubicle, or workstation, is the computer shut off, password protected, and secure? Are paper records, stored away in a desk or file rather than left out on the desktop?
4. Are your staff members aware of the company’s policy regarding patient record storage and access and do they understand their role in protecting patient privacy?
5. Does delivery staff secure patient information in their vehicles? Are they cognizant of protecting patient information when they are in a patient home?
6. Many years after HIPAA went into effect, there are still casual breaches in lunchrooms and restaurants and out in the community. Every surveyor has seen examples of delivery personnel walking into a retirement home and having “patient A” ask how “patient B” down the hall is doing. Train staff to handle situations like this.

HQAA, Inc. is based in Waterloo, Iowa. It specializes in healthcare accreditation for DMEs and HMEs. Parts of this article were reprinted with permission of HQAA, Inc.

blog.hqaa.org/HQAA-blog