HIPAA Compliance for Orthopedic Practices: Imaging and Surgical Records

HIPAA Compliance for Orthopedic Practices: Imaging and Surgical Records Orthopedics is an imaging- and surgery-heavy specialty, and that is exactly where its HIPAA risk concentrates. A typical orthopedic encounter generates X-rays, and often MRI or CT studies, stored as DICOM files in a PACS (picture archiving and communication system) — large, identity-rich records that move […]

HIPAA Compliant Cloud Storage: Comparing Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box

HIPAA Compliant Cloud Storage: Comparing Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box “Is Dropbox HIPAA compliant?” is one of the most common questions healthcare organizations ask — and the honest answer is that no cloud storage product is compliant or non-compliant on its own. HIPAA compliance comes from the combination of a signed Business Associate Agreement, […]

HIPAA Compliance for Cardiology Practices: ECG Data and Remote Monitoring

HIPAA Compliance for Cardiology Practices: ECG Data and Remote Monitoring Cardiology’s defining HIPAA challenge is that a large share of its data is now generated outside the clinic, streaming continuously from devices implanted in or worn by patients at home. Pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), implantable loop recorders, Holter and event monitors, and remote blood-pressure and […]

HIPAA and Social Media: Creating Compliant Social Media Policies

HIPAA and Social Media: Creating Compliant Social Media Policies Social media is unusual among HIPAA risks because the danger is rarely a hacker. It is a well-meaning employee celebrating a patient’s recovery, a clinic proudly sharing a before-and-after, or a frustrated staff member venting about a hard shift. What makes social media distinct is speed […]

HIPAA Compliance for Allergy and Immunology Practices

HIPAA Compliance for Allergy and Immunology Practices Allergy and immunology practices carry a HIPAA profile that looks calm on the surface and is surprisingly demanding underneath. These are usually outpatient practices, but they build some of the longest-running, most detailed records in medicine: skin-test panels, specific IgE lab results, and years of allergen immunotherapy visits. […]

HIPAA Compliance for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practices

HIPAA Compliance for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practices Speech-language pathology and audiology practices carry a HIPAA risk that few other specialties share: they routinely create recordings of the patient’s own voice and likeness. An articulation sample, a fluency recording, a video of a swallow study, or a saved audiology session is far harder to de-identify […]

HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA): What to Include and Why

HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA): What to Include and Why A Business Associate Agreement is the contract that lets protected health information cross an organizational boundary without breaking HIPAA. The distinct thing to understand about a BAA is that it is not paperwork you sign and file — it is a liability allocation document with […]

HIPAA Compliance for Social Workers: Navigating Privacy in Case Management

HIPAA Compliance for Social Workers: Navigating Privacy in Case Management Social workers handle some of the most sensitive information in healthcare while working across the most boundaries. A single case might touch a hospital, a housing agency, a school, a court, and a family — each a separate audience with a different legal basis for […]

HIPAA Compliance After a Data Breach: Recovery and Remediation Steps

HIPAA Compliance After a Data Breach: Recovery and Remediation Steps The hours after you discover a breach are not the time to learn what HIPAA expects of you. What makes post-breach compliance distinct from everyday HIPAA work is that a clock starts the moment a breach is discovered, and a separate set of obligations under […]

HIPAA Compliance for Dermatology Practices: Clinical Photos and Teledermatology

HIPAA Compliance for Dermatology Practices: Clinical Photos and Teledermatology What sets dermatology apart from most specialties under HIPAA is the sheer volume of clinical photography. Dermatologists document lesions, rashes, moles, and surgical sites constantly, and those images are protected health information the moment they can be tied to a patient. Add the rise of teledermatology, […]