Few Reasons Why Healthcare Startups Fail To Execute HIPAA Plans Properly

There are a lot of things that healthcare startups miss out on when it comes to HIPAA compliance. But HIPAA should not be a roadblock to the success of any healthcare startup. Here’s you will see a few reasons why healthcare startups fail to execute privacy and security plans properly.

Unrealistic Privacy and Security Policies

One of the main reasons privacy and security policies are not followed is because the standards set by the organization are too unrealistic. In all honesty, there are no one-size-fits-all security processes. Healthcare startups developing privacy and security programs need to be realistic on how they will execute their plans for HIPAA compliance. Instead of just creating legal paperwork, the policies need to be understandable by employees and focus on the steps for acting, taking into account the budget and number of employees.

Inflexible HIPAA Policies and Procedures

Federal regulations may always change at any given time. Given how the pandemic brought about a lot of changes in the HIPAA rules, it is clear that the policies must be flexible enough so that they can be altered to account for the changes. Startups especially go through massive changes as they grow over the years. New employees come in, new technologies are implemented, and the overall infrastructure grows. With all this progress, administrative policies and technical security controls must also grow and adapt. Therefore, policies and procedures should be flexible enough so that they can be revisited and revised.

No Dedicated Officer

If you are trying to save more money by not appointing a privacy and security officer, you might want to rethink your decision. Think about how much a simple violation of HIPAA rules could cost your business. Even though HIPAA requires designating privacy and security officer/s, many startups are passive when it comes to managing HIPAA compliance. Without a designated official defining the HIPAA plan, delegating tasks, and evaluating HIPAA efforts a compliance plan simply falls flat. Even a small healthcare startup needs an appointed person who can make final decisions on HIPAA objectives, standards, and workflow.

Inability to scale to automated controls

Once the HIPAA policies are set, it is time to implement and manage security controls, such as backup and disaster recovery, implementing encryption standards, and collecting audit logs. Policies provide the guidelines for how to conduct these processes. For small companies, some of these processes can be done manually, but as they grow these processes keep getting more complicated. Without automating daily backups on cloud servers, or other processes, it is highly likely to make mistakes or miss security options. Proper timely documentation can also help. With HIPAA compliance software, it is easier to keep track of the efforts.

Compliance efforts should be proactive

Another big mistake is that organizations often become laid back in security efforts once they think that they are already compliant. Remember, compliance is not a one-off thing, it is a continuous process and requires continuous efforts. Rather than just product development and innovative patient outcomes, startups should also keep an eye on security and regulations. HIPAA compliance software can be of great help in this aspect. Some of them do not require too much investment and can be employ at an affordable rate. In the end, it is up to the organization to build proactive HIPAA compliance programs that grow and scale with their business.

Author Bio : Riyan N. Alam is a digital marketing analyst at CloudApper, a supplier of mobile ERP solutions, including HIPAA compliance software, facility management software, and many more. Combining his passion for reading books, he writes about subjects valuable to people and their daily lives. Riyan loves traveling and trading in his free time.