How to do a Risk Analysis - Webinar By MentorHealth

 

Overview: If you cannot remember the last time your organization performed a HIPAA & HITECH Act Risk Analysis, or if you are unsure if your organization has ever performed a Risk Analysis, then this is the webinar for you. Jonathan P. Tomes will cover how to conduct a risk analysis and how to update it as necessary. Failure to conduct a written risk analysis qualifies as "willful neglect," which carries the highest civil money penalty ("CMP") and which penalty cannot be waived by DHHS as can violations due to a reasonable cause. 

Because a risk analysis is a required implementation specification under the Security Rule, failure to do one is willful neglect. And the civil money penalties are not the only sanctions for not doing a risk analysis. The remediation costs for a breach that might have been prevented had a risk analysis been done can be much more than the CMP. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee not only had to pay the $1.5 million settlement, but also it incurred $17 million in remediation costs-costs that might have been avoided had it done an updated risk analysis. 

Why should you attend: The majority of the DHHS civil money penalties and settlements in lieu thereof involve, sometimes with other violations, failure to perform a written risk analysis. These penalties usually are in the seven figure range. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, for example, settled for $1.5 million for failing to update its risk analysis when its physical security situation changed. Other seven-figure settlements involved failure to do the required initial risk analysis.

Areas Covered in the Session:

 

• What is risk analysis?
• Why do you need to do one?
• How to do one
  • Assemble a good team
  • Identify assets
  • Identify risks
  • Quantify risks
  • Select reasonable, appropriate, and cost effective security measures
  • Test and revise security measures
• Particular areas to focus on (portable devices, social media, email, and the like)
• Case study (will walk webinar attendees through the process)
• Questions and answers

Who Will Benefit:

• HIPAA compliance Officers
• HIPAA Security Officers
• HIPAA Privacy Officers
• Human Resources Directors
• Business Office Managers
• Medical Records Personnel
• Health Care Attorneys
• Patient Accounts Managers
• Business Associates

Background : HIPAA requires a risk analysis of threats to protected health information (“PHI”). Even if risk analysis were not required, one cannot possibly implement reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect PHI without first having completed a risk analysis. If one implements a security measure without conducting a risk analysis, it is just guessing. And most covered entities and business associates have not completed this most important compliance requirement. The Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) recent audits of covered entities revealed that 47 out of 61 had not conducted a satisfactory risk analysis. This lack of risk analyses is likely because of neglect or failure to understand the need therefore and how to do one.