HIPAA Tip: Wrapping Up Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024

First and foremost, spread the word about Cybersecurity Awareness and Cyber Hygiene – we are all in this together.

There are so many organizations supporting cybersecurity awareness through publications, training videos and posters; most of them offer this information for free with step-by-step learning tools. If you are a smaller healthcare organization, utilizing these resources can further support and enhance your security within the business.

Take advantage of the following Cybersecurity Awareness programs and resources:

• HHS 405(d) Knowledge on Demand training videos and Resource Library
• Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Resources & Tools
• National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0
• ONC and HHS OCR Security Risk Assessment Tool
• NIST “Small Business Cybersecurity Corner”
• Sign up for OCR Security and Privacy ListServe Newsletters
• National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) Stay Safe Online
• NICE Framework for Cybersecurity

Points to remember: cyber threats and attacks are NOT going away and will only become more frequent. No one is free from a hacking or ransomware attack. Review the HPH Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) and work toward putting in place all Essential Goals, then move on towards implementing Enhanced Goals to implementing Enhanced Goals to improve and ultimately protect patient health information.

HIPAA compliance isn’t a one-time checklist. It’s ongoing, programmatic in nature, and requires demonstrated reasonable diligence to stay in good standing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Anatomy IT can provide you peace of mind with our expert HIPAA compliance services. To learn more, contact us here.

Author: Dawn Meglino

HIPAA Compliance Specialist, CHPSE, CCSA, CCAP