HIPAA security risk assessments

Editor's Notes

• #5: Covered entity audits in 2015 will focus on issues including computing device and storage media security controls, transmission security, and HIPAA safeguards such as procedures and staff training. The focus in 2016 will include physical access, encryption, decryption and other issues, according to the article. OCR recently levied its first fine against a local government for HIPAA non-compliance. Skagit County in Washington state was ordered to pay $215,000 for failing to act after a hospital's September 2011 self-reported breach compromised the electronic protected health information of close to 1,600 people served by the public health department.
• #7: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA; Pub.L. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936, enacted August 21, 1996) was enacted by the United States Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It was sponsored by Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.). Title I of HIPAA protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs. Title II of HIPAA, known as the Administrative Simplification (AS) provisions, requires the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans, and employers
• #8: To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the nation’s healthcare system, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 includes a series of “administrative simplification” provisions requiring HHS to adopt national standards for electronic healthcare transactions. By ensuring consistency throughout the industry, the national standards will make it easier for health care organizations to process transactions electronically. The law also requires the adoption of privacy and security standards in order to protect individually identifiable health information.  HIPAA requires that “covered entities” e.g. health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and those healthcare providers conducting electronic financial and administrative transactions (such as eligibility, referral authorizations, and claims) comply with each set of standards. Other businesses may choose to comply with the standards, but the law does not mandate that they do so.
• #9: Administrative safeguards: Administrative functions that should be implemented to meet the security standards. These include assignment or delegation of security responsibility to an individual and security training requirements. Physical safeguards: Mechanisms required to protect electronic systems, equipment and the data they hold, from threats, environmental hazards and unauthorized intrusion. They include restricting access to EPHI and retaining off site computer backups. Technical safeguards: Automated processes used to protect data and control access to data. They include using authentication controls to verify that the person signing onto a computer is authorized to access that EPHI, or encrypting and decrypting data as it is being stored and/or transmitted.
• #11: CEs did not perform a risk assessment; CEs did not have a formalized, documented risk assessment process; CEs had outdated risk assessments; and, CEs did not address all potential areas of risk.
• #16: Develop and Implement a Risk Management Plan The first step in the risk management process should be to develop and implement a risk management plan. The purpose of a risk management plan is to provide structure for the covered entity’s evaluation, prioritization, and implementation of risk-reducing security measures. For the risk management plan to be successful, key members of the covered entity’s workforce, including senior management and other key decision makers, must be involved. The outputs of the risk analysis process will provide these key workforce members with the information needed to make risk prioritization and mitigation decisions. The risk prioritization and mitigation decisions will be determined by answering questions such as: Should certain risks be addressed immediately or in the future? Which security measures should be implemented? Many of the answers to these questions will be determined using data gathered during the risk analysis. The entity has already identified, through that process, what vulnerabilities exist, when and how a vulnerability can be exploited by a threat, and what the impact of the risk could be to the organization. This data will allow the covered entity to make informed decisions on how to reduce risks to reasonable and appropriate levels. An important component of the risk management plan is the plan for implementation of the selected security measures. The implementation component of the plan should address: Risks (threat and vulnerability combinations) being addressed; Security measures selected to reduce the risks; Implementation project priorities, such as: required resources; assigned responsibilities; start and completion dates; and maintenance requirements. The implementation component of the risk management plan may vary based on the circumstances of the covered entity. Compliance with the Security Rule requires financial resources, management commitment, and the workforce involvement. Cost is one of the factors a covered entity must consider when determining security measures to implement. However, cost alone is not a valid reason for choosing not to implement security measures that are reasonable and appropriate. The output of this step is a risk management plan that contains prioritized risks to the covered entity, options for mitigation of those risks, and a plan for implementation. The plan will guide the covered entity’s actual implementation of security measures to reduce risks to EPHI to reasonable and appropriate levels. 2. Implement Security Measures Once the risk management plan is developed, the covered entity must begin implementation. This step will focus on the actual implementation of security measures (both technical and non-technical) within the covered entity. The projects or activities to implement security measures should be performed in a manner similar to other projects, i.e., these projects or activities should each have an identified scope, timeline and budget. Covered entities may also want to consider the benefits, if any, of implementing security measures as part of another existing project, such as implementation of a new information system. A covered entity may choose to use internal or external resources to perform these projects. The Security Rule does not require or prohibit either method. It is important to note that, even if it uses outside vendors to implement the security measures selected, the covered entity is responsible for its compliance with the Security Rule. 3. Evaluate and Maintain Security Measures The final step in the risk management process is to continue evaluating and monitoring the risk mitigation measures implemented. Risk analysis and risk management are not one-time activities. Risk analysis and risk management are ongoing, dynamic processes that must be periodically reviewed and updated in response to changes in the environment. The risk analysis will identify new risks or update existing risk levels resulting from environmental or operational changes. The output of the updated risk analysis will be an input to the risk management processes to reduce newly identified or updated risk levels to reasonable and appropriate levels.
• #21: Security management process (CFR §164.308(a)(1)): Implementing policies and procedures to prevent, detect, contain, and correct security violations. Assigned security responsibility (CFR §164.308(a)(2)): A single individual must be designated as having overall responsibility for the security of a Covered Entity's (CE) Electronic Patient Health Information (EPHI). Workforce security (CFR §164.308(a)(3)): Implementing policies and procedures to ensure that employees have only appropriate access to EPHI. Information access management (CFR §164.308(a)(4)): Implementing policies and procedures for authorizing access to EPHI. Security awareness and training (CFR §164.308(a)(5)): Implementing a security awareness and training program for a CE's entire workforce. Security incident procedures (CFR §164.308(a)(6)): Implementing policies and procedures to handle security incidents. Contingency plan (CFR §164.308(a)(7)): Implementing policies and procedures for responding to an emergency or other occurrence that damages systems containing EPHI. Evaluation (CFR §164.308(a)(8)): Performing periodic technical and non-technical evaluations that determine the extent to which a CE's security policies and procedures meet the ongoing requirements of the Security Rule. Business associate contracts and other arrangements (CFR §164.308(b)(1)): A CE may permit a business associate to create, receive, maintain, or transmit EPHI on the CE's behalf only if the CE has satisfactory assurance that the business associate will appropriately safeguard the data.
• #26: The HIPAA Security Officer is responsible for:   Understanding the HIPAA Security Rule and how it applies within each Covered Component.   Developing appropriate policies and procedures to comply with the HIPAA Security Rule   Overseeing the security of EPHI within each Covered Component.   Monitoring each Covered Component for compliance with EPHI security policies and procedures.   Identifying and evaluating threats to the confidentiality and integrity of EPHI.   Responding to actual or suspected breaches in the confidentiality or integrity of EPHI.
• #28: Security reminders are just that, a refresh of the annual HIPAA awareness training