What Is HIPAA Compliance? If You Have A Business, You Should Know

what is hipaa compliance if you have a business you should know

What is HIPAA compliance? Having a thorough understanding of HIPAA compliance is imperative for any IT professional working in the healthcare sector. This factor is especially important as technology evolves, and more affected organizations utilize innovative tools like mobile devices and Health Information Exchanges.

But what is HIPAA compliance?

As this article explains, HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, sets the standard for protecting sensitive patient data. A comprehensive IT plan for HIPAA compliance must include, training, review, and safeguards.

TRAINING:

For training to be effective, it must be current and thorough. Members of the medical and administrative staff need regular and comprehensive training to lessen the practice’s risk of exposure to data leaks and potential financially crippling HIPAA violation penalties.

REVIEWING:

As technology and regulation evolve, it is important to incorporate regular reviews of policy and procedure as it pertains to patient information and how that information is shared and stored.

SAFEGUARDING:

There are three basic areas to consider when developing safeguards; physical, administrative and technological.

1. Physical

Organizations covered by HIPAA must have physical measures in place to protect both traditional and digital data from unauthorized intrusion. These actions may include having a patient’s charts placed in areas where only authorized personnel have access, securing laptops with passwords and keeping them in safe locations and putting security cameras in those locations. Policy and procedure training must include instruction for proper use.

2. Administrative

Security controls have to be evaluated regularly from a risk management standpoint in the following administrative areas of your medical office:

  • Assignment of responsibilities
  • Workforce security
  • Awareness and training
  • Incident reporting protocols and periodic analysis
  • Contingency planning
  • Emergency data recovery planning
  • Vendor access and control – confidentiality contracts

3. Technological

IT is the fastest evolving area of a practice today. Tech areas that need to be kept in compliance with HIPPA regulations are:

  • Data encryption
  • Data storage options
  • Data disaster planning
  • Data recovery planning
  • Email filtering
  • Web filtering
  • Digital data sharing
  • Risk analysis

Consequences of non-compliance

So now you know the answer to the question, “What is HIPAA compliance?”. Having a thorough understanding of the complicated requirements for HIPAA compliance also means that the penalties for violations are also understood. HIPAA violations and resulting lawsuits are soaring. The dollar amount of awards and settlements for HIPAA ITsecurity violations is currently at $20.3 million, (for the first eight months of 2016) that is an increase of 32% from 2105.

To discover how AE Technology Group’s HIPAA Consulting can benefit your business contact us today.

Why You Should See Technology as More Than a Business Expense

why you should see technology as more than a business expense

technology as more than a business expense

While most small to mid-size businesses don’t place a lot of weight on technology, it really is important to see technology as more than a business expense.

What they fail to realize is technology positions them so they’re better equipped to compete with other businesses, even those bigger than themselves. Of course, there are a few areas you’ll want to focus on for the most impact, including:

  • Get rid of any systems that are holding your business back. These bulky systems are costing you money and your business is more productive and innovative without them.
  • Create an online presence because without one your business may as well not even exist. Start by determining what you want your website to do, then put together the right marketing message, and make sure everything is properly optimized.
  • Cloud computing provides your business with technology you couldn’t otherwise afford due to your size and budget constraints (e.g. email systems, VoIP systems, storage systems, accounting applications.). Your business saves about 50% by utilizing cloud computing technologies so these things are now affordable.
  • Don’t do your own IT work! You seek professional advice in legal, medical, and accounting matters so why shouldn’t you also seek it when dealing with IT work? Make sure you choose an IT professional who helps you understand new technologies and how to apply them to your business.

Technology clearly isn’t a waste of money today. So, when you need help reconciling these things for your business, contact us. We’re here for you.

Get IT Support on Long Island

get it support on long island

IT Support on Long Island

Get IT Support on Long Island

Are you tired of paying again and again for IT support whenever you have a technology problem at your business? There is a better way to get IT support on Long Island. AE Technology Group offers managed IT services and IT support in Long Island and New York.

We offer reliable hourly and emergency IT service as well as support that will keep your business running as smoothly as possible each month.

What are the Benefits of IT Support?

IT support is available whenever you need it from AE Technology Group. We know that IT emergencies don’t always happen at convenient times. We will do our best to get to your IT emergency as soon as possible. Hourly support is great for companies that don’t have that many technology needs. For businesses with only a few employees and devices, hourly support is a great solution. Only pay for IT services when you need them.

What are the Benefits of Managed IT Services?

Managed IT service means you pay a flat monthly fee for preventative IT maintenance as well as any problems that come up. It is great for small to medium businesses because you don’t find yourself paying invoice after invoice for each problem that occurs. And the main goal of managed services is to have your systems running so well that you minimize daily problems.

If you have a business on Long Island and need some new IT support, whether that is hourly support or managed IT services, contact us today at AE Technology Group.

Looking for IT Solutions for Your Business?

looking for it solutions for your business

it solutions for businesses

If you are looking for IT solutions for businesses, whether you are unhappy with your current IT support or you are a new business, AE Technology Group in Long Island and New York is here to help. AE Technology group offers managed IT services as well as traditional IT support.

If you are asking—what is the difference?—let us explain

Managed IT services puts AE Technology Group on your team. Instead of just putting out fires, we do preventative maintenance, make sure you have all the up-to-date software on all of your devices, and have 24/7 monitoring of all your critical systems so we can get on it right away if there is a problem. Hardware or software issues—we have them all covered. The thing our customers love the most about managed IT services is that there are no surprise fees. No matter what troubles you encounter, we aren’t going to tack more fees onto your monthly rate.

Our tradition IT support is more like on-call care. When you have a problem, we can come take care of it for you. You pay for each service as you go. AE Technology Group offers technical and help desk support, software training and support, and hardware installation and configuration.

AE Technology Group’s services don’t stop there however. If your business needs help with backup and recovery, online marketing, VoIP phone systems, hardware as a service, or cloud computing, we can help.

For more information on how AE Technology Group can help your Long Island or New York business, contact us today for more information.

How Professional Help Desk Support Can Benefit Your Company

how professional help desk support can benefit your company

help desk support

Is your company is trying to handle its internal help desk support needs on its own?

You are probably misdirecting time, money, and management attention that could better be used in building your core business.

Many small companies try to provide the hardware, software, and network support their employees need by depending on in-house personnel. Sometimes it’s a small support group with official responsibilities for assisting employees. Other companies provide IT support on an informal basis, relying on the willingness and ability of some workers, who have job responsibilities of their own, to share their time and knowledge with coworkers when the need arises.

Although it may seem that keeping IT support in house is the most cost-effective option for a business with a limited budget, just the opposite is often the case. The cost in lost time, in employee confusion and frustration, and in operational inefficiency as workers are diverted from their own tasks in a sometimes futile attempt to aid coworkers, often far outweighs the cost of using a professional help desk support service.

A good Help Desk provider will have employees whose job it is to know your IT setup in depth, so that they can offer expert assistance with hardware, software, and networking issues on a 24/7 basis. Plus, they’ll be able to train your employees so that fewer IT-related problems arise in the first place.

Unlike your company, a Help Desk vendor’s business is focused on maintaining a dedicated, expert staff, along with time-tested procedures for handling a wide variety of support issues quickly and successfully. It’s very difficult for a small internal support staff, and certainly for employees who informally share their expertise with coworkers, to match the service a professional Help Desk company can provide.

If you would like to explore how the professional Help Desk services AE Technology Group offers can provide superior IT support, and help you eliminate unnecessary distractions from your core business, please contact us.