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Safeguards: The What, Why, and How

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Meghan Davenport in Blog

Guest Blog Post by Tamara Beitel

Health Information Management Student, Centre for Distance Education, May 2015

 

Picture this, the reception room of the clinic was clean and organized, the patients were happy as they were quickly seen by an efficient, positive and qualified healthcare team. This is what happens when the clinic has taken the time to design their safeguards.

What are safeguards? Why are they important to you? How do you implement these safeguards into your clinic/office?

These are important questions to consider when thinking about safeguards. Implementing safeguards will make your clients/patients feel more confident that their personal information is safe. They will be more willing to share their information.

Why should you safeguard health information?

It is important to safeguard health information to protect your business, your reputation, and helps employees understand privacy, security and confidentiality. When your clients/patients see that you are actively making sure that their personal information is safe, they feel more confident in sharing that information knowing it will be protected.

What are safeguards?

There are three types of safeguards to use in maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of health information in your clinic.

Administrative safeguards are the policies and procedures and other written documents. Policies and procedures direct staff to properly access patient information, privacy training for staff, monitoring the policies and procedures, dealing with receiving and responding to privacy complaints and inquiries, and dealing with transferring, retaining and destroying personal information contained on electronic devices.

There is privacy breach management to help prevent or in case of a breach what the procedure is in dealing with the breach. In the blog, When is a privacy breach a privacy breach?, it discusses the repercussions of not implementing breach policies and also discusses the legislation that is in place to safeguard personal information from breaches. It is important to acknowledge when a breach has occurred, that you have taken the proper steps to address the breach, and have learned from the breach so as not to repeat the same mistakes.

Examples of Policies and Procedures:

  • Signed oaths of confidentiality for all affiliates
  • Screens should be private and not viewable from public areas
  • Prohibit disclosure of patient diagnostic, treatment and care information over the phone, even to an individual who claims to be the patient

Technical Safeguards are controls that protect and control access to personally identifiable and health information. Technical safeguards include electronic devices, surveillance cameras, security systems, and telephone systems. Let’s focus on electronic health information and computer networks for example.

Audits of the security and computer systems are vital to maintain privacy and security of personal information. Through audits you can enforce compliance of the policies and procedures and see where changes, if any, are needed. It helps the staff to be aware of the importance in protecting the client/patient personal information. They see that there are consequences for not following policies and procedures.

You should also be aware of the risks from external threats. These include:

  • identity theft
  • loss of information
  • information shared with unauthorized individuals
  • Some examples of external threats are: malware (malicious software, designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system), spyware (a type of malware that collects information, such as key loggers), and irresponsible use of the Internet

Mitigation strategies include:

  • regular training and refreshers on privacy and security
  • IT professionals reassess any software/hardware additions/changes

Examples of technical safeguards in electronic medical records (EMRs) are:

  • Strong passwords
  • Encryption of data
  • Using role-based access to limit access to health information to a need to know basis (user-based access rights ((secure)), role-based rights ((more secure)) and context-based rights ((most secure))

Physical Safeguards are the physical measures used to protect electronic health information from unauthorized access. This includes precautions to prevent break-ins, theft of computers and files, unauthorized access to personal information, applying physical barriers and control procedures against threats to personal information, and policies and procedures on locking up at night, computer etiquette, and office set up (how and where computers, fax machines etc. are set up).

Examples of physical safeguards are:

  • Limiting access to the building, clinic and storage areas
  • Alarms and security cameras, doors and locks, lighting
  • Placing fax machines and printers out of sight and reach of public areas

Safeguards Next Steps

All three of the safeguards should be used in conjunction with each other. The use of these safeguards will help protect your client/patient information from breach, identity theft, loss and unauthorized access. You have the power to make the clinic/office safe from threats to security, privacy and confidentiality. Your clients/patients will know that you have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that their personal information has been protected and appreciate it. It is beneficial to your clinic to review all of your safeguard measures with staff and have regular audits, reviews, updates to the policies and procedures, systems, and security of the clinic. There are many self-assessment tools available from the Privacy Commissioners in the provinces and from the federal government. See the resources below.

 

About the author: Tamara Beitel has successfully completed the Health Information Management Diploma at Centre for Distance Education, she is currently preparing to challenge the National Certification Exam in July 2015. Tamara is looking forward to work as a Certified Health Information Management (CHIM) professional in the area of policy and privacy protection in the Calgary area.

Resources

Privacy Awareness Training– Corridor Interactive – Privacy Awareness in Healthcare: Essentials

Jean Eaton, When is privacy breach a privacy breach? https://informationmanagers.ca/privacy-breach-privacy-breach/

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

best practice, clinic management, good security practices, privacy, privacy breach, Safeguards, security

Do Your Patients Know Your Office Holiday Hours?

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Jean Eaton in Blog

Holiday hours are great opportunities to easily create social media content for your healthcare practice–let your patients know about changes to your office holiday hours.

The Easy Way to Add Content to Your Social Media

One of the most frequent question that every office receives is – what are your office hours?

It makes sense to share this information in an automated way. This saves time in the telephone queue and makes everyone's day a little smoother. Add the information to your telephone answering system messages, website, posters in your clinic, and in your social media channels.

Common social media channels include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

When the content appears in your social media channel, your patients will expect regular updates from you around each holiday and will return to your social media channel again and again over the year.

Let your patients know about changes to your office holiday hours!

  • Encourage your patients to visit your social media over and over again!
  • Easy for you to add content that your patients want to see.
  • No new technology for you to learn – copy and paste!

There is a simple way to create this content.

Follow these steps:

1. Select Your Images

You can use any related image and size it to print and display in your clinic or your social media channel.

2. Add Your Logo

You could use an image without adding your branding. But, for more impact, I recommend that you take just a few minutes and use a photo editing software to add your clinic name and logo to the image. You want the reader to know which clinic the image is about! This is also a good way to continue branding for your clinic.

There are many free and easy photo editing software systems. I like to use Canva.

Once your images are edited, download them to your computer network system.

3. Prepare Your Social Media Content

Working with your authorized social media manager, confirm your holiday hours and related messages.

Sample message that you will type into the new social media post.

Happy Easter from all of us at ABC Clinic!

Please note we will be closed Monday March xx to March xx.

We will be back to regular office hours on Tuesday.

For our latest hours of operation, please visit our website [insert website address].

4. Save Your Files

Keep a copy of your images and your social media messages for use next year.

You might store the images and your notes on a shared folder on your computer network. For example,

Social Media >> Holiday Announcements >> Month Holiday

5. Publish Your Holiday Announcements

Add your images and the messages to your website and social media channels.

Let Me Make This Easier For You!

I've found images that you can use for your office holiday hours messages.

Download the FREE Holiday Hour Templates

and receive 10 images that you can use all year long!

 

template

Get the Free Statutory Holidays Images Templates

Would you like more tips like this?

Members of Practice Management Success Membership enjoy access to Tips, tools, templates and training to help you start, grow, fix, or maintain your healthcare practice!

Membership is open to all healthcare practices of any size – physicians, optometrists, audiologists, dentists, chiropractors, physiotherapists, nurse practitioners, and more!

Member access to online resources when you need it along with networking and support from other clinic managers, practice managers, and healthcare providers in independent community practices – just like you!

Learn More About Practice Management Success
clinic management, facebook, healthcare, holiday hours template, medical, practice management, social media images

How Do You Celebrate Your Receptionist?

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Jean Eaton in Blog

National Receptionists’ Day is celebrated annually on the second Wednesday of May. It is celebrated by organizations around the world, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. National Receptionists’ Day was first celebrated in 1991 as a special day to recognize and appreciate the many contributions receptionists make to an organization.

The purpose of National Receptionists’ Day (Wednesday, May 9, 2018) is to:

  • Foster recognition of the importance of the receptionists role. They are usually the first person a customer or client meets when they visit a company.
  • Promote pride and professionalism amongst receptionists for the important role they play within an organisation.
  • Give receptionists an opportunity to share stories and link up with other colleagues.

The importance of the role played by receptionists is often overlooked. Instead, follow the advice from Nelson Scott, SEA Consulting:

“Take time on National Receptionists Day  to let these “Managers of First Impressions” know how much you depend on them. Your organization's receptionist is often the first person that clients meet when visiting your office or calling it on the telephone.”

Display This Poster In Your Practice

Display a poster in your clinic to let your patients know how much you appreciate your receptionists.

Here's a poster that you can download and use right away!

National Receptionist Day Poster

Share in Social Media

Here's another great – and easy! – way to create engaging content for your social media accounts and team building, too.

Create one – or more – social media posts recognizing the value that your receptionists bring to your team and patient care celebrating the receptionists that you have in your clinic.

What To Do Next

  1. Invite your staff to participate. Send an email, memo, or poster asking them to share what your Receptionist means to them.
  2. Create a social media post message. Here is a sample:

National Receptionists’ Day is May 9th! At ABC Clinic, we recognize and appreciate all of the amazing contributions our Receptionist makes. Thank you (NAME)!

National Receptionists’ Day is May 9th! What are you doing to celebrate your “Manager of First Impressions”? #NationalReceptionistsDay

  1. Add an image.
  2.  Pin your post to the top of your Facebook timeline.
  3. Create additional posts to highlight each staff members' thoughts on your Receptionist. Share photos of your Receptionist being celebrated.

 

Download the Receptionist Images Templates

Would you like more tips like this?

Members of Practice Management Success Membership enjoy access to Tips, tools, templates and training to help you start, grow, fix, or maintain your healthcare practice!

Membership is open to all healthcare practices of any size – physicians, optometrists, audiologists, dentists, chiropractors, physiotherapists, nurse practitioners, and more!

Member access to online resources when you need it along with networking and support from other clinic managers, practice managers, and healthcare providers in independent community practices – just like you!

Learn More About Practice Management Success
celebrate receptionist day, clinic management, facebook, healthcare, manager of first impressions, practice management, Practice Management Success, receptionist day, social media images, templates

Do Your Patients Know That You Are On Facebook?

Posted on March 26, 2018 by Jean Eaton in Blog

When you have a Facebook Page for your business / clinic, you want people to view your content and engage with you. When people relate to your content, they will ‘like' your posts and your page. When more people ‘like' your page, your content and message gets shared more quickly. Would you like to be able to have your content on Facebook shared to more people? Certainly!

The Easy Way to Grow Your Facebook Fan Page

Your patients already know you. Now is the time to invite them to ‘like’ your Facebook Fan Page, too! The Facebook fan page is your business page where you can share information with your patients. When your patients and family are in the waiting room remind them with a poster that you have a Facebook Page. This is an ideal time for them to take a minute to visit your Facebook page and like both the page and the content that you have posted.

When Your Content Gets Shared

When you add information to your Facebook page, for example, your hours, parking instructions, information about your team, and articles that your patients are interested in, visitors to your Facebook page will like and share your content with their friends. When your content gets shared,

  • your Facebook page gets higher standing in Facebook
  • people who search in Facebook for your name, clinic name, service, or the community you are in are more likely to find you
  • you can share your message and reach even more people – the friends of the people that like your posts and your page
  • after a while, it may make sense to buy advertising to Facebook so that you can get more likes of your page
  • and they will share with their friends . . . . and so on, and so on

Download the Facebook Poster Template

You can print it out right away or upload them to Canva or another photo editing software to add your Facebook Page name, clinic logo, etc.

Download the Free Facebook Poster Template

Would you like more tips like this?

Members of Practice Management Success Membership enjoy access to Tips, tools, templates and training to help you start, grow, fix, or maintain your healthcare practice!

Membership is open to all healthcare practices of any size – physicians, optometrists, audiologists, dentists, chiropractors, physiotherapists, nurse practitioners, and more!

Member access to online resources when you need it along with networking and support from other clinic managers, practice managers, and healthcare providers in independent community practices – just like you!

Learn More About Practice Management Success

If you are already a member or Practice Management Success, this poster is already in your membership area. Click Here to go directly to the social media images and training now. 

clinic management, facebook, Facebook Poster template, healthcare, practice management

June 21 2016 Practice Management Q&A – Members Only

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Jean Eaton in Archive

Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 10:30 am MDT

Welcome to June's live Practice Management Q&A with Jean Eaton, Your Practice Management Mentor.

Below you will be able to view the presentation, hear the audio, and participate in the chat and ask questions.

June Q&A topics include:

  1. Our clinic shares common reception and lobby areas with another healthcare provider. We can see and overhear patients and conversations. What can we do to improve privacy for our patients?
  2. Can you suggest some ways to inform our patients about our office procedures? We don't want posters all over walls!

Send your questions about practice management, human resources issues, clinic management best practices, procedures, resources, practical privacy tips and more!

 

Have a question?

Send an email to Jean at jean[at]informationmanagers dot ca.

Recorded live June 21, 2016

 

Don't forget to download these resources!

Oath of Confidentiality – Affiliates Information For Our Patients Template

Are you a member of the Information Managers Network?

You can access all the replays from your membership account.

 I'm a member of Information Managers' Network

 

Not a member, yet? Become one today!

I want to know more about being a member of Information Managers' Network

 

Practice Management Q&A series is hosted by Jean Eaton (Your Practice Management Mentor) of Information Managers Ltd.

clinic management, health care, healthcare, healthcare practice management, Practical Privacy Coach, practice management, Practice Management Mentor

July 12 2016 Practice Management Q&A

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Jean Eaton in Practice Management Q&A

Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 10:30 am MDT

Welcome to July's live Practice Management Q&A with Jean L. Eaton, Your Practice Management Mentor.

Send your questions about practice management, human resources issues, clinic management best practices, procedures, resources, practical privacy tips and more!

Attend the live webinar to view the presentation, hear the audio, and participate in the chat and ask questions.

Register for the Q&A Live Webinar

July Q&A topics include:

  1. We want to start to receive electronic versions of lab results reporting (e-Labs) and attach the results in our patients' electronic medical record (EMR). Do you have any project management tips?
  2. Dress code tips for summer weather in your healthcare practice.

 

Replays are available only to members of Information Managers Network.

Have a question?

Send an email to Jean at jean[at]informationmanagers dot ca.

 

Are you a member of the Information Managers Network?

You can access all the replays from your membership account.

 I'm a member of Information Managers' Network

 

Not a member, yet? Become one today!

I want to know more about being a member of Information Managers' Network

 

Practice Management Q&A series is hosted by Jean Eaton (Your Practice Management Mentor) of Information Managers Ltd.

clinic management, dress code, e-Lab, electronic laboratory results reporting, electronic medical record, EMR, health care, healthcare, healthcare practice management, practice management, Practice Management Mentor

June 21 2016 Practice Management Q&A

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Jean Eaton in Archive

Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 10:30 am MDT

Welcome to June's live Practice Management Q&A with Jean Eaton, Your Practice Management Mentor.

Below you will be able to view the presentation, hear the audio, and participate in the chat and ask questions.

June Q&A topics include:

 

Our clinic shares common reception and lobby areas with another healthcare provider. We can see and overhear patients and conversations. What can we do to improve privacy for our patients?

Can you suggest some ways to inform our patients about our office procedures? We don't want posters all over walls!

Send your questions about practice management, human resources issues, clinic management best practices, procedures, resources, practical privacy tips and more!

 

Have a question?

Send an email to Jean at jean[at]informationmanagers dot ca.

Recorded live June 21, 2016

 

Don't forget to download these resources!

Oath of Confidentiality – Affiliates Information for Our Patients Template

 

 

Are you a member of the Information Managers Network?

You can access all the replays from your membership account.

 I'm a member of Information Managers' Network

Not a member, yet? Become one today!

I want to know more about being a member of Information Managers' Network

 

Resources

Practice Management Q&A series is hosted by Jean Eaton (Your Practice Management Mentor) of Information Managers Ltd.

clinic management, health care, healthcare, healthcare practice management, Practical Privacy Coach, practice management, Practice Management Mentor

May 17 2016 Practice Management Q&A

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Jean Eaton in Archive

Replay for Members only

Recorded Live Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 10:30 am MDT

Welcome to May's live Practice Management Q&A with Jean Eaton, Your Practice Management Mentor.

Below you will be able to view the presentation, hear the audio, and participate in the chat and ask questions.

May Q&A topics include:

Does a custodian who also owns the clinic need to complete a confidentiality oath?

What are the fines if an affiliate does not report a privacy breach to a custodian?

What if I'm working for a custodian and they don't report a privacy breach?

Send your questions about practice management, human resources issues, clinic management best practices, procedures, resources, practical privacy tips and more!

 

Have a question?

Send an email to Jean at jean[at]informationmanagers dot ca.

 

 

Resources – Confidentiality Oath Custodians Physicians Resources – Confidentiality Oath Affiliates Employees

 

Are you a member of the Information Managers Network?

You can access all the replays from your membership account.

 I'm a member of Information Managers' Network

Not a member, yet? Become one today!

I want to know more about being a member of Information Managers' Network

 

Resources

Practice Management Q&A series is hosted by Jean Eaton (Your Practice Management Mentor) of Information Managers Ltd.

clinic management, Practical Privacy Coach, practice management, Practice Management Mentor

April 12 2016 Practice Management Q&A

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Jean Eaton in Member QA

Recorded Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 10:30 am MDT

Welcome to April live Practice Management Q&A with Jean Eaton, Your Practice Management Mentor.

Below you will be able to view the presentation, hear the audio, and participate in the chat and ask questions.

April Q&A topics include:

  1. Another healthcare provider intended to send us a fax about our patient. The fax went to a different business. Who is required to report this privacy breach?
  2. When do we need to tell a patient that their information was breached?

Have a question?

Send an email to Jean at jean[at]informationmanagers dot ca.

 

 

 

Are you a member of the Information Managers Network?

You can access all the replays from your membership account.

 I'm a member of Information Managers' Network

Not a member, yet? Become one today!

I want to know more about being a member of Information Managers' Network

 

Resources

Practice Management Q&A series is hosted by Jean Eaton (Your Practice Management Mentor) of Information Managers Ltd.

clinic management, Practical Privacy Coach, practice management, Practice Management Mentor

March 08 2016 Practice Management Q&A

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Jean Eaton in Archive

Tuesday, March 08 at 10:30 am MDT

Welcome to March live Practice Management Q&A with Jean Eaton, Your Practice Management Mentor.

Below you will be able to view the presentation, hear the audio, and participate in the chat and ask questions.

March Q&A topics include:

  1. We live and work in a small community. How can we handle our employee's personal health records? Our
    employee's family members come to this clinic, too. What additional safeguards can we use to protect the
    confidentiality of these records?
  2. Patient access requests.

Have a question?

Send an email to Jean at jean[at]informationmanagers dot ca.

Webinar will start in

 

Are you a member of the Information Managers Network?

You can access all the replays from your membership account.

 I'm a member of Information Managers' Network

Not a member, yet? Become one today!

I want to know more about being a member of Information Managers' Network

 

Resources

Practice Management Q&A series is hosted by Jean Eaton (Your Practice Management Mentor) of Information Managers Ltd.

clinic management, Practical Privacy Coach, practice management, Practice Management Mentor
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