8 reasons why you should do your research with healthcare compliance services

What is healthcare compliance service?

Healthcare compliance is the most common way of satisfying or surpassing HIPAA guidelines and rules, as well as any pertinent lawful and moral consistency principles. It guarantees that your medical care practice is considered responsible for their clinical activities, and provides an obligation of care with regards to taking care of your patients. Healthcare compliance ensures that patient data is kept private and confidential, so patients know they are in the best hands.  

Since there are various principles to follow that can change somewhat rapidly, now and again it can be a battle to keep up. Healthcare compliance can become rather complex in the event that your work process doesn't oblige such changes, and without the right research, you could wind up submitting extortion or misbehavior. But don’t fear! Numerous medical care organizations, such as Carepatron, make healthcare compliance simple, providing a way for you to connect with clients and maintain HIPAA-compliant document and note storage. 

Why is compliance crucial in healthcare?

Healthcare compliance is generally recognized throughout the entire medical services industry and is set up to ensure the privacy of healthcare data, as well as forestall security oversights and disappointments. It guarantees the guideline of innovation use and attempts to limit security dangers to keep up with the protection and classification of patient information. Healthcare compliance also works with effective and safe data exchange, which is perfect to guarantee patient information is secure. Compromised data is a huge no-no in healthcare practices, and you certainly do not want to have to deal with the severe consequences that could easily be prevented. 

Healthcare compliance ensures that patient data connects to the right IDs, with the important clinical history recorded and viewable to specific authorized users. This means healthcare professionals across practices, regardless of where they are in the world, can access the information and assess patient conditions. With medical compliance and privacy programs, you can become more compliant than ever, without the need to scramble around and grapple with various changing rules and legislation. You can store clinical documents online in encrypted servers, as well as safely secure financial information, allowing you to have peace of mind when it comes to your sensitive data.  

Eight key elements of effective compliance programs

To effectively implement healthcare compliance services that accommodate security regulations and laws, it is important to consider these 8 elements. They fall within the categories of prevention, detention, and corrective action, and using these will almost certainly ensure that you are providing the highest level of care when it comes to your information. 

1. Written policies/code of conduct - Usually embedded within a code of conduct or code of ethics, written policies should outline compliance regulations for all individuals across the healthcare practice. Specifically, this should detail the operations and structure concerning compliance, so anyone can easily view and oversee the steps taken to ensure high-level security. 
2. Compliance officer and oversight - There must be a compliance officer that reports directly to the senior position of the health organization, who supports a compliance committee. They will monitor the quality of compliance services, as well as keep track of all activity concerning privacy. 
3. Training and education - To foster a culture of compliance, it is important to educate staff on how to handle sensitive data information. As we know, technology develops rapidly, so to ensure that staff are up-to-date on security practices, it is important for this training to be ongoing. 
4. Reporting hotline - Having an avenue that allows confidential and anonymous reporting minimizes any shame that clients may face in asking questions, and provides a great way for queries to be received. 
5. Auditing and internal reports - You should perform annual risk assessments to evaluate compliance challenges and success over the year, as this can contribute to effective strategies that build upon your current practices. Auditing also allows you to monitor trends and patterns that can help you to adjust your procedures, allowing for the highest level of care. 
6. Non-retaliation and non-intimidation - Some staff may have the valid fear of losing their jobs if they report issues concerning their healthcare practice, so it is important to implement non-retaliation and non-intimidation policies to alleviate these anxieties.
7. Investigations and remediation - In response to any reported issues, it is important that they are dealt with promptly. This means you must correct any areas of weakness as soon as possible to avoid being fined, and you must also work to identify root causes. 
8. Disciplinary policies - For those who have been involved in unlawful or unethical activity, it is important that they pay the consequences. These disciplinary policies should be the same across all members of the healthcare practice, and if a serious misconduct has been identified, the employee should be terminated. Performance reviews can supplement this process, and it is important that you promote compliant behavior at all times to avoid this from happening. 

Current opportunities in clinical research compliance

There are various healthcare compliance service opportunities that you can take advantage of to boost the growth and security of your practice. Doing so will enable you to do what you do best; take care of your patients! Taking advantage of HIPAA, or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, information can prove vital to your healthcare business. Incorporating privacy policies into your business provides a step up for patients, as well as a competitive advantage over other healthcare businesses that may not prioritize these processes. Providing research development, testing, and evaluation concerning broad privacy regulations can result in a significant impact on clinical research. Especially considering these rules are ever-changing, and can often be fairly complex, it is important to take HIPAA into consideration. Conflict of interest is also increasingly common, as many studies currently operate with institutional conflicts that need addressing. This can cause huge financial losses and research invalidity, which makes things increasingly difficult when it comes to healthcare compliance improvements. There should also be informed consent, so every participant knows what they are getting into as well as having the right clinical billing and funds in place to be able to conduct the proper research. 

Use Carepatron: Medical compliance & security you can count on

We know that it’s not easy to wrap your head around healthcare compliance, and it can often feel overwhelming. Given the number of rules and regulations, it can feel like one easy misstep can lead to a pile of malpractice claims. However, it doesn’t need to be this complicated, and with healthcare platforms such as Carepatron, you can ensure that you are always abiding and complying with HIPAA security laws. With Carepatro’s encrypted servers and high-level security protocols, you can effectively manage client appointments, finances and medical information, as well as securely communicate online. It is revolutionizing the way healthcare treatments are delivered, and incorporating these into your research and practice operations will prove immensely beneficial. 

One healthcare compliance platform for practitioners and their clients: Try Carepatron for free today!

Further reading:

• Current Challenges and Opportunities in Clinical Research Compliance
• Draft Guidance on Clinical and Patient Decision Support Software