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Your Dental Practice is at Risk without HIPAA-Compliant Solutions
Failing to meet strict HIPAA standards for your website and other marketing materials is a big no-no that can lead to increased risks to your practice.
Your Dental Practice is at Risk without HIPAA-Compliant Solutions
BYDaniel De Steno|February 5, 2020|Business IT Articles, News, and Tips
HIPAA-Compliant Dental IT Solutions
Failing to meet strict HIPAA standards for your website and other marketing materials is a big no-no that can lead to increased risks to your practice.
Has your website been updated lately? If not, you might want to consider reviewing some of the standards that you currently have implemented. Something as simple as a contact form that is incorrectly utilizing information could cause your website — and your practice — to be open to significant HIPAA violations. Avoid compromising confidential patient data and protect the reputation of your practice by putting these website HIPAA compliance strategies into action.
Steps to Protect Your Website from HIPAA Compliance Violations
Protected Health Information (PHI) is an extremely valuable resource as well as a massive potential liability. Simply allowing patients to store and retrieve this information through your website opens your dental practice up to potential risks from cybercriminals. These strategies are solid steps towards ensuring that your website is HIPAA compliant.
HIPAA-Compliant Infrastructure and Services
Everything from the server upon which data is stored to the customer contact forms will need the highest possible degree of security to ensure that PHI for patients is protected at all times. Obtaining an SSL certificate for your website is not only required for HIPAA compliance but also helps your dental practice in terms of search optimization. HIPAA-compliant servers include advanced encryption properties, audit logs, backups, and even physical security controls — all of which can be challenging for a small dental practice to provide without a proactive IT support partner.
Restrict Employee and Contractor Access to Data
You might not realize it, but even a contractor troubleshooting a secure chat could be causing HIPAA violations within your business. Staff authorized to view confidential client information should be granted on a case-by-case basis, with clear documentation showing how and why this authority is granted.
Enhance Protection for Emails and Website Traffic
Emails that originate from your domain could be vulnerable to interception, making this a weak point in your cybersecurity that could lead to HIPAA violations. An email that contains PHI must be compliant, secure and only available to individuals who have previously been authorized to access these details.
Protect Against Vendor Practices
Unfortunately, many dental practices are not aware that the actions of their vendors could potentially impact their HIPAA compliance. Even with all the necessary safeguards in place, if you are utilizing a third-party data provider or another vendor whose database connects to a server containing PHI, there are potential risks that need to be addressed. Having your partners sign a Business Associate Agreement shows that you’re actively educating your partners about the risks inherent with storing confidential information.
With all of these protective measures in place, there is still a final piece to the puzzle: ensuring that your website is ready for new methods of interacting with patients. Dental IT professionals should realize that even the smallest infraction — such as responding to patient reviews on Yelp — can leave their practice open to tens of thousands of dollars in compliance fines.
Is Your Dental Website Ready for Voice Search?
According to Dr. Nima Aflatooni, a member of the ADA Council on Dental Practice, “Voice technology could be a big part of what health care looks like in the future” which is leading to integrations with Amazon’s Alexa and other digital or virtual assistants. Google recently expanded on its voice search options, noting that 27% are currently utilizing voice search on their mobile devices. This could increase very quickly as experts estimate that voice search will be up to around 50% by 2020 and beyond. With this shift in online interaction, having a website that is fully optimized for voice search and voice interaction provides a better and more engaging experience for your patients. Fortunately, many of the same strategies that are used to assure data compliance may help bring additional structure to your website and operations — that will benefit voice-driven searches and discoverability in the future.
Understanding all of the challenges that come along with HIPAA and HITECH compliance requires extensive experience in the dental or healthcare realm, even for your IT managed services providers. The professionals at NOVA Computer Solutions are the premier dental IT support solution for Woodbridge, Virginia and surrounding areas. You can reach our team online anytime, call 703-493-1796 or schedule your free initial consultation online to see how we can identify any risky operations and help form a strategy for resolution.
Schedule you free consultation by filling out the form below.
NOVA-MAINTAIN Program Terms and Conditions
This Agreement was entered between NOVA Computer Solutions L.L.C. referred to as “NOVA” and the above referenced client also referred to as “Client”. The parties agree to abide by the terms and conditions as set forth in this agreement.
Period of the Agreement: This Agreement is effective as of the contract effective date and remains in effect for 36 months. The contract is renewed automatically after the initial 36 months on a 12 month basis. Upon termination there shall be no refund or credits allowed.
System Maintenance Services: Professional services include, but are not limited to time spent – either at Client or NOVA’s site. (a) Exclusions: Unless so specified, the Covered System does not include any cabling, or any wiring external to the Covered System, telecommunications devices (including modems), peripheral equipment, software. In no event shall the Covered System include removable magnetic or optical media, ink ribbons, toner cartridges, paper or other supplies, expendables or services.
System Maintenance Services: NOVA shall perform Virtual Maintenance Services at least once per month. If client experiences a Major Alarms the client will notify NOVA by telephone. Client shall cooperate with NOVA’s reasonable requests for assistance to determine the cause of the reported problem and whether an on-site Maintenance Service visit is required. NOVA may assist Client with additional services outside the scope of the Maintenance Services. This assistance will be billed at NOVA’s prevailing hourly rate.
Fees: The monthly Fee shall be invoiced in full at the beginning of every month. Any other amounts due hereunder, including the applicable Surcharge Rate or any reimbursable out-of-pocket costs, shall be invoiced monthly as well. The rate for additional time needed per month for System Maintenance Services will depend on the package you select. No Travel Cost Within in 25 Miles of Primary Support Office, Discounted Rate for over 25 miles.
Certain Client Responsibilities: Client shall ensure that: (I) all software and hardware is installed and operated according to applicable manufacturer specifications; (ii) all upgrades and releases have been properly installed; (iii) a uninterrupted and suitable power supply and other environmental conditions have been implemented and maintained; (iv) suitable surge protection devices have been implemented; (v) no other equipment or software having an adverse impact on the system have been introduced; (vi) no repair attempts or other changes have been made other than by or with the express approval of NOVA or the applicable manufacturer, (vii) the systems haven’t been mishandled, neglected, abused, damaged by fire, lightning or water, or otherwise subjected to unusual electrical or physical stress (viii) Client periodically makes and stores in a safe place archival copies of all software and all valuable data. (a) Failure to Comply. NOVA may refuse to provide Service or may treat any such work as Other Billable Maintenance Service at NOVA’s prevailing hourly rate.
Cancellation Policy: NOVA or Customer may cancel this contract for any reason with 90 days written notification.
Limited Warranty: Client must notify NOVA of any dissatisfaction, problems, or concerns within 3 days of the date the services were provided. Client will grant NOVA a reasonable amount of time to resolve problem to Client’s satisfaction. NOVA represents and warrants that it will use its best efforts to perform Maintenance Services in a competent and workmanlike manner.
Limitation of Liability: NOVA shall have no liability or responsibility to Client or any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss, or damage caused directly or indirectly by a manufacturer or third party equipment or programs sold or provided by a manufacturer or third party. This includes, but not limited to, any interruption of service, loss of business or anticipatory profits, or consequential damages resulting from the use or operation of the equipment. NOVA shall not be liable for any loss of data at any time, under any circumstances. Client is responsible for backing up all its data before NOVA performs any service.
Late Charges, Collections and Attorneys’ Fees: Client will be charged $40.00 for each returned check. Client will be responsible for all attorney fees and costs incurred and collection fees. Any late payment shall be subject to any costs of collection, reasonable legal fees and shall bear interest at the rate of eighteen (18) percent per month or fraction thereof until paid. Client shall pay amounts invoiced under the terms of this Agreement within seven (7) days after receipt of invoice. In any dispute, action, arbitration, bankruptcy, probate, or administrative or judicial proceedings, or any settlement thereof, NOVA shall be entitled to recover attorney’s fees and costs.
Fee Increases: This contract has an automatic 5% increase yearly and NOVA reserves the right to revise fees at any time. NOVA will provide the Client of the updated fee’s, other than the automatic yearly increase, fifteen (15) days prior to the next month’s invoice.
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