Does Your Copier Need to Be HIPAA Compliant?

HIPAA compliance is one of the larger concerns for many businesses. In the healthcare industry, it is vital to keep patient information private and secure. When it comes to privacy, it isn’t just your computers you have to worry about. It is also your printers and copiers.

Security Measures

One of the best ways to keep your copier secure from data thieves is to keep it password-protected. With the implementation of password security, you can ensure that only certain personnel have access to make copies of documents in the office. You can also give different passwords to different levels of employees so that some may copy other documents, but not patient data.

Privacy Settings

Make sure that the copier use in the office has specific security features. These include not only password protection, but also private printing, a secure hard drive, and privacy prompting during the copying process. A private printing setting keeps copies inside the copier until they are picked up so that no one else will see the data on the printed sheets. Engage all necessary privacy features in the office to keep data as secure as possible.

Employee Training

Another important factor in keeping your copier HIPAA compliant is training employees and what they can and can’t copy. Security training teachers employees about how to uphold HIPAA and what types of documents they are not allowed to copy. Some employees may be barred from using the copier at all because they have no need to make copies in the office. Documents that might be copied may also be kept in secure files that are not accessible to all employees.

HIPAA may seem like a difficult set of requirements, but it is necessary for patient confidentiality and privacy. When you have engaged all of your available security features, you can ensure that the data will stay safe and your company will stay compliant. If you are ready for stronger security for your data, contact us today.