North Texas Dentistry Volume 7 Issue 2 NTD 2017 ISSUE 2 DE

5 HIPAA Technical Safeguards Explained data protection by Don Douglas We’ve all been there. You go to a meeting and someone talks about HIPAA compliance. You leave, ready to conquer the HIPAA monster. But come Monday morning, HIPAA seems much harder to explain to your staff, and suddenly you wish you had an IT degree. So let’s simplify things. HIPAA is a series of safeguards to ensure protected health information (PHI) is actually protected. There are five HIPAA Technical Safeguards for transmitting electronic protected health information (e-PHI). Let’s break them down, starting with the first and probably most important one. Transmission Security Also called encryption, this converts information into a code. You want the highest number when it comes to encryption (i.e., 256, 1024, 2048-bit), because the higher the level, the stronger the security. Accomplished through: Encryption software in the mar- ketplace today Authentication Verifies that the people seeking access to e-PHI are who they say they are. Accomplished through: The federally-recognized DIRECT project. DIRECT verifies users and recipients through mul- tiple forms of identification. Technology like biometrics, which can use fingerprints, face, or iris recognition for verification purposes Access Control Ensures there is no unauthorized access of devices by a person other than an authorized, specifically-known user. Accomplished through: Unique usernames, passwords, and an automatic log-off feature built into the software 28 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com Audit Control Produces an audit trail across hardware, software and/or procedural mechanisms. Accomplished through: Software that produces a detailed audit report. Do not just take a vendor’s word for it. Ask him or her to produce an instant HIPAA audit trail report of your demo session. In the resulting report, you should see every activity that occurred during your demo, and who it was performed by. Integrity Ensures that electronically transmitted e-PHI is not improp- erly modified without detection, until e-PHI is disposed of. Accomplished through: An off-site service that stores all e-PHI communications for six years — without the possibil- ity of e-PHI modification. Each safeguard can be met individually or through cost-effective solutions that meet all technical safeguards in a comprehensive software package. Products are often labeled “HIPAA-Compliant”, but only satisfy one or two of these safeguards. Insist that your vendor demonstrate all five technical safeguards. Your practice depends on it. Donald Douglas is a 24-year professional with a focus in Operations and Administration. As the Chief Operating Officer at iMedicor, Don facilitates be- tween all departments, from product development to sales, ensuring responsive, secure, HIPAA- compliant solutions for their clients. His career began at Pitney Bowes and accelerated rapidly in the technology sector. He was a founding member of Axsa Document Solutions, where his logistical expertise helped grow the com- pany into an Inc. 500 company. Over his career, Don developed and managed teams across a wide variety of departments including Customer Service, Cor- porate Training, Lease Operations and Administration. After serving in the United States Navy, Don attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

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