What are the trends?
A quick review of HHS compliance and enforcement data shows that the top five HIPAA compliance and enforcement issues during the past few years remain virtually unchanged. Among others, common problems include impermissible uses and disclosures, safeguards, access control. These issues are recurring due to the fact that they are the core of a successful HIPAA compliance program. They involve controls that range across the full spectrum of technical, operational and management controls. Failures of these controls may lead to inappropriate disclosure and thus bring negative attention to the organization. Unfortunately, while the overall security posture is stagnant across the healthcare industry, the number of complaints filed against an organization due to the loss or exposure of sensitive information continues to rise. Such a scenario will generally lead to a more focused audit of that particular organization as trends develop and become recognized across the industry. For example, as
