ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2015 Issue 14
Privacy: HIPAA Audits on the Way-After This Quick Station Break
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Article Overview
This article discusses the U.S. HHS Office for Civil Rights’ delay of Phase 2 HIPAA audits and the agency’s revised audit approach. It covers the planned pre-audit survey process, the move toward more comprehensive on-site audits, the use of a new web portal for audit data collection, and why healthcare organizations should pay attention to compliance readiness. The piece is relevant to privacy, security, compliance, and operations teams working with HIPAA audit preparation.
Why This Topic Matters
OCR audit timing and process changes can affect how covered entities and business associates prepare for HIPAA compliance reviews, especially when audit methods shift and new portal-based workflows are introduced.
Article Sections
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Delayed Phase 2 HIPAA audits
This section explains the postponement of the next audit phase and the lack of a confirmed start date. It summarizes the context around the agency’s timeline changes.
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Pre-audit surveys and portal planning
This section covers the planned survey process for selecting audit participants and the role of a new web portal. It also describes the intended data collection and workflow support functions of the portal.
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Shift to more comprehensive on-site audits
This section outlines the change in audit strategy away from a primarily desk-based approach. It describes the broader audit format and the inclusion of both covered entities and business associates.
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Compliance readiness and monitoring for updates
This section encourages organizations to use the added time to assess privacy and security readiness. It also notes the importance of watching for further OCR announcements and updates.
What You Will Learn
- How OCR’s HIPAA audit timeline has changed
- What the planned pre-audit survey process involves at a high level
- How the audit program’s use of a web portal affects data submission
- What broad changes are being made to the audit approach
- Why compliance readiness remains important during the delay
Who Should Read This
- HIPAA compliance officers
- Privacy and security officers
- Healthcare administrators
- Covered entities
- Business associates
- Revenue cycle and operations teams
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