Since 2009, over 2100 data breaches have occurred in the healthcare industry. Over the years, governments around the world have passed some tough laws regarding the handling of sensitive healthcare data. If you run a medical practice, collecting and handling this information properly is crucial if you want to avoid large fines and headaches.
Every so often, medical establishments are required to undergo an audit to assess how well they are handling sensitive information. If you want to ace your compliance audits, you need to be prepared for some hard work. The only way to avoid compliance-related penalties is by taking a smart approach to the audit process.
Below are some things you can do to avoid issues during your compliance audit.
Hire a Third-Party to Perform a Mock Audit
Some business owners think that allowing a member of their team to perform a mock compliance audit is the best way to catch problems ahead of the real audit. While this is true in some cases, there are times when a person’s familiarity with the data in question can cloud their judgment.
If you want a true assessment of how well your organization is handling data security, then hiring a third-party to perform this mock audit is crucial. With the help of a third-party, you can get cold hard facts regarding where changes need to be made. Finding an organization that is familiar with performing compliance audits in the healthcare sector is wise.
Get Familiar With the Audit Process
When hiring a third-party to perform a mock audit, you can also take advantage of the information they can provide. You need to take the time to learn more about what is being looked at during the audit and how to spot problems. Knowing this information can help you get prepared for your actual audit in the future.
During the course of your mock audit, the third-party agency you have hired will probably make many suggestions regarding how to change your current data handling process. If the company in question has experience with compliance gap analysis, take these suggestions to heart.
Instead of letting these suggestions go unnoticed, you need to consider making changes. While changing your existing data handling methods may be difficult, it is worth the effort invested.
Be Consistent With Your Auditing Efforts
The main mistake you can make when it comes to audit prep is waiting until the last minute to start this process. You will be unable to fix years of neglectful data handling practices overnight. This is why you need to perform mock audits routinely.
By performing these audits every few months, you can avoid data hacks. Allowing data security professionals to help you with these audits is the only way to ensure they are performed properly.
It’s Time to Get Ready For Compliance Audits
Are you trying to prepare for upcoming compliance audits? If so, you need to put the information in this article to good use.
If you want more information about this topic, be sure to read the rest of our blogs.