If you want to keep your business operating smoothly, you always need to make sure that you are following all necessary guidelines as closely as you possibly can. That is something that can be much easier said than done, of course, but nonetheless it is something to think about. One kind of regulation you strongly need to follow is HIPAA, especially if your business has anything at all to do with healthcare.
HIPAA is essentially a series of rules that are designed to protect the healthcare and medical information of individuals everywhere. If you deal with the medical world in your business, you have to follow these regulations to the letter. Here are some of the consequences of violating HIPAA.
- Financial Penalties
First off, if your company is found to be violating HIPAA in any way, then you are going to find yourself with a fairly hefty financial penalty to pay. Of course, you would always much rather avoid this, so it’s hardly surprising that you should think about keeping in line with HIPAA wherever possible at all times.
The amount you are penalised depends on the level of harm: ranging from $100 all the way up to more than $50,000 for a serious violation.
- Loss Of Income
For your business as well as for your clients and customers, a HIPAA violation will often mean that you are going to see a loss of income that could profoundly affect people. This is definitely something that you are going to want to look into, as it is not something you want to see. Medicare payments can be disrupted through violations of this kind, so it’s important to avoid.
- Criminal Charges
In some cases, you can even be personally charged in a criminal sense if you are found to have violated HIPAA. Clearly, this is something that you will want to avoid at all costs, so it’s important to make sure that you are doing all you can to keep in line with HIPAA. Remember that intent doesn’t matter here: even if you did it out of ignorance, you can still be found guilty and have a record.
- Sanctions
There is also a possibility that your business might be on the receiving end of sanctions of various kinds, which can also be passed on to employees. Between that and terminations, you might find that your employee turnover is suddenly getting higher and higher, and that is clearly something that you would rather avoid if you can help it, so be sure about HIPAA for this reason.
- Termination
There might also be cause to terminate an employee’s contract if they are found to breach HIPAA rules within your organization. This can be a nuisance for everyone involved, but you will need to uphold your side of the law if they do this, and termination is often the only way to show you are taking it seriously. Remind your staff of this.
As you can see, it is hugely important to get your business HIPAA compliant as soon as possible.
