How to Maintain HIPAA Compliance with Paper and Digital Records

In the healthcare world, maintaining HIPAA compliance is a top priority from both a digital and hard copy recordkeeping standpoint. Both electronic data and paper document records are subject to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, which were first adopted about 15 years ago. Sustaining compliance with paper records doesn’t have to be difficult – here are some tips to keep your organization in accordance with HIPAA rules:

• Allow employees the opportunity to password-protect print jobs. This forces the end-user to enter a PIN at the printer before it actually prints the document
• Configure printers to print documents face-down
• Place secure containers throughout the office, allowing HIPAA-compliant disposal of paper documents

Many healthcare organizations are still utilizing fax technology to transmit information from one organization to another. With the increasing demand for secure document management, it’s important for healthcare organizations to consider the advanced security features that are built into their machines. Here are some tips to keep your digital records within HIPAA compliance:

• Make sure that all faxes are received into memory and cannot be printed without a password
• Prevent unauthorized users from sending faxes
• Enable secure faxing and fax forwarding
• When it’s time to upgrade your fax machines and dispose of the old ones, be sure to execute proper equipment recycling

To learn more about secure document destruction and HIPAA-compliant equipment recycling programs, visit AccuShred.net, or contact us at 419-244-SHRED. AccuShred is the first company in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan to be granted AAA Certification from the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID).