WEBINAR – Dept. of Health & Human Services HIPAA Audits: How to Prepare

Our thanks to the team at healthcareinfosecurity.com for asking CynergisTek to share its firsthand experience with the OCR HIPAA Audit Program.

Friday – June 29, 2012  3:30 PM Eastern (12:30 PM Pacific)Duration: 90 Minutes

Wednesday – July 11, 2012  1:00 PM Eastern (10:00 AM Pacific)Duration: 90 Minutes

 A good way to prepare for federal HIPAA compliance audits is to learn from the experiences of the first organizations audited earlier this year.

This webinar will feature timely insights from a consultant who observed first-hand an audit at a hospital that was one of the 20 initial sites audited under the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights’ new program. Another 95 sites will be audited by year’s end, and most have yet to be notified.

Join us for this exclusive session, when you’ll gain a clear understanding of:

• The audit process and protocol and how to prepare for the experience;
• The level of rigor in the audit process and the expectations of the auditors;
• The essential steps to take to prepare staff, including insights on how to successfully interact with the auditors.

Background

The HITECH Act called for HIPAA compliance audits as part of an effort to help ensure compliance with its privacy and security provisions. The HHS Office for Civil Rights has completed the first 20 pilot audits, and it plans to complete another 95 by the end of this year.

Those to be audited will be notified in phases in months ahead. How can you help ensure your organization is well-prepared if it’s selected? By learning from the experiences of those who’ve been through the audit experience.

This webinar will feature timely insights from an experienced consultant who aided a client with its audit, from start to finish.

The protocol for these assessments presents a rigorous audit experience that emphasizes the need for readiness, consultant Mac McMillan stresses.

McMillan’s experience advising a client who was audited provided valuable direct visibility into how these audits are conducted, the expectations of the auditors and the process. This session is designed to chronicle that experience and provide insights into how to improve your readiness posture.

In this webinar, you’ll learn:

• What the audit process looks like and what to expect;
• How to prepare for the document request requirements;
• How to prepare your staff for successful interaction with the auditors;
• How to prepare all your departments for the audit process;
• How to review your information security program to understand weaknesses;
• How to prepare your response.

CynergisTek to Showcase HIPAA Audit Readiness Solution Portfolio at 2012 HCCA Compliance Institute

Company Co-Designed Solution Series with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP; Drew Upon Firsthand Experience Providing Consulting and Advisory Services Under HIPAA Audit Pilot Program

Las Vegas, April 26, 2012 – HCCA Booth #205— CynergisTek™, an authority in enterprise security and privacy solutions and services for healthcare organizations, today announced that the company will feature its new joint offering, the HIPAA Audit Readiness Solution Portfolio, at the 16^th Annual HCCA Compliance Institute from April 29 through May 2 in Las Vegas. The CynergisTek experts designed the solution series in collaboration with the health information technology (HIT) and HIPAA team of national law firm, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (DWT).

At the HCCA booth, experts from each organization, including CynergisTek CEO, Mac McMillan, and DWT Partner, Adam Greene, will be on hand discussing the new audit readiness portfolio, which was architected specifically to evaluate and improve an organization’s compliance with HIPAA/HITECH based on OCR’s HIPAA Audit Program. The companies will highlight the portfolio’s customized services designed to accommodate the different audit readiness objectives of every healthcare organization with components covering the full scope of audit preparation, from training and risk assessment to a full mock audit. In addition, McMillan and Greene will host “Ask the Expert” informal breakfast briefings in the the exhibit hall on the mornings of April 30th and May 1st.

“The experience CynergisTek gained working with one of the hospitals selected for OCR’s HIPAA Audit Pilot Program provided us an opportunity to glimpse into the upcoming phase of compliance and enforcement that will soon become a reality for all healthcare organizations,” said McMillan. “In developing the solution series with DWT, we wanted to address new complexities that are being added to the already-daunting challenges facing compliance professionals today. In unveiling the HIPAA Audit Readiness Portfolio and engaging in discussions with our colleagues at the HCCA Compliance Institute, we hope to make strides in ensuring all healthcare organizations are equipped to handle OCR’s impending enforcement.”

CynergisTek will also be featuring its additional solutions and services, which are specifically designed to help healthcare organizations improve their security and privacy posture, facilitate compliance, advance operational efficiency and foster trust. CynergisTek’s managed and on-demand solutions address the fundamental elements of information security management, including:

• Strategy and Governance
• Compliance and Risk
• Infrastructure
• Technical Vulnerability Management
• Audit
• Managed Security Solutions

To learn more about the CynergisTek-DWT HIPAA Audit Readiness Solution Portfolio and CynergisTek’s range of enterprise security and privacy solutions and services for healthcare organizations, visit HCCA booth #205.

About CynergisTek

CynergisTek is an authority in healthcare information security and privacy management, regulatory compliance, IT audit and advisory services, business continuity management, security technology selection and implementation, and secure IT infrastructure architecture and design solutions. The firm offers practical, manageable and affordable consulting services for organizations of all sizes and complexity. Using an organized, planned and collaborative approach, CynergisTek applies multidisciplinary expertise to serve as partner and mentor, to enhance the consulting experience and, ultimately, clients’ compliance and business performance. CynergisTek participates in and contributes to HIMSS, AHIMA, HFMA, HCCA, AHIA and other industry bellwether organizations. For more information visit http://www.cynergistek.com, call 512.402.8550 or email info@cynergistek.com.

About Davis, Wright Tremaine LLP

The national healthcare practice of Davis Wright Tremaine provides clients with comprehensive regulatory and transactional services, along with real estate, labor/employment, benefits, litigation, financing (including tax-exempt financing, bankruptcy and tax work. Most healthcare clients also face intense challenges in electronic health records and information management. The health information technology and HIPAA team of Davis Wright Tremaine is deeply involved in helping clients take advantage of emerging technical opportunities and cope with related obligation, including the ongoing HIPAA audits.  Learn more at www.dwt.com or contact Adam Greene directly at adamgreene@dwt.com.

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Media Contact:

Megan Malarkey

Senior Account Executive

Aria Marketing

(617) 332-9999, x215

mmalarkey@ariamarketing.com

IOWA HIMSS Spring Chapter Meeting – May 10, 2012

 

CynergisTek CEO, Mac McMillan, will present “IT Security in the Era of Meaningful Use and OCR Enforcement” at the Iowa HIMSS Chapter Spring Meeting.

The meeting will be hosted by Mercy Iowa City at Mercy Plaza McAuley I and II on May 10, 2012.  The conference will be held from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm.

For more information, please visit http://www.iowahimss.org/.

Thanks to the team at Iowa HIMSS for inviting us to participate!

HCCA Compliance Institute 2012 – CynergisTek @ Booth 205

CynergisTek is pleased to enter its 8th year of participation in the Health Care Compliance Association’s (HCCA) annual Compliance Institute.  HCCA is the preeminent membership and bellwether organization serving healthcare compliance professionals to advance ethical practice and compliance standards across the healthcare industry.

This year’s Compliance Institute will be held at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, NV from April 29 – May 2, 2012.  Over 225 faculty members will lead over 125 educational sessions at this year’s Institute.

Please visit CynergisTek at booth #205, just across from HCCA’s booth, as we launch two new solutions portfolios:  one dedicated to OCR Audit readiness and one dedicated to Business Associate compliance management.  We also hope you will visit our valued business partners, Iatric Systems in booth #413 and ZixCorp in booth #111.

For more information and to register for the conference, please visit:  http://www.compliance-institute.org/index.htm.

Viva Las Vegas!

NCHICA AMC Privacy and Security Conference 2012

CynergisTek is pleased to contribute again to the NCHICA AMC Privacy and Security Conference.  This is the DO NOT MISS conference for those serving in privacy and security roles in academic medical centers.

In its 8th year, the theme of this year’s conference is “Changing Risk and Requirements: The New World of Healthcare Privacy and Security.  The conference will be held at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC from April 22 – 25, 2012.

CynergisTek CEO, Mac McMillan, joins Adam Greene, Esq., Davis, Wright and Tremaine, and Ross Janssen, JD, CIPP, CIPP/IT, Director of the Privacy and Security Office at the University of Minnesota, for a presentation on “Managing Medical Research, Residents and Security & Privacy Issues” on Tuesday, April 24, 2012 at 2:45 pm.

For more information and to register for the conference, please visit:  http://www.nchica.org/Activities/AMC2012/intro.htm.

Louisiana Health Information Management Association 2012 Annual Convention

CynergisTek is pleased to be supporting faculty at the 2012 meeting of LHIMA.  The theme of the conference this year is “The Cajun Circus,  Succeeding Under the Big Top”

When:  April 18-20, 2012

Where:  Hilton Lafayette, Lafayette, LA

CynergisTek CEO, Mac McMillan, will be presenting a state of the union on privacy and security on Thursday, April 19, 2012 @ 2:30 pm.

Thank you to the team at LHIMA for including CynergisTek and the important topic of privacy and security on this year’s agenda!

For more information on the conference, visit:  http://www.lhima.org/meeting/home.html