Medical Records Shredding that’s HIPAA Compliant
DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION For HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS IN CT
When your healthcare practice is looking for a professional and easy way to properly dispose of medical records just one call to FileShred is all you need. Our experts will help you pick the right HIPAA compliant service, give you a quote, and if you’re ready schedule your document destruction appointment for as soon as tomorrow.
HIPAA Requires Medical Records to be Shredded
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) states that all healthcare providers, also known as “covered entities,” must dispose of “protected health information” (PHI) safely. The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes the requirement for covered entities to have appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards in place to protect the privacy of protected health information (PHI), including the disposal of such information. For PHI in paper records, shredding, the medical records so that the PHI is rendered essentially unreadable, indecipherable, and otherwise cannot be reconstructed.
Covered Entities Should Shred All Protected Health Information
Covered entities are defined in the HIPAA rules as health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers. This means that medical record shredding must be done for patient charts, labeled prescription bottles, hospital ID bracelets, and more, before being placed in a dumpster or garbage can. Even if you’re closing your practice, you can’t abandon your patients’ PHI or dispose of it in the regular trash without destroying them properly. Medical records shredding from FileShred is your answer.
We Help You Be HIPAA Compliant
At FileShred, we specialize in helping our healthcare customers maintain their HIPAA compliance by rendering all PHI completely unreadable before disposal. Our expert team is here to help you with insurance record shredding, medical shredding, health care record shredding, HIPAA shredding, HIPAA compliant hard drive destruction, etc. We have an easy, cost-effective HIPAA-compliant medical records shredding program, no matter what type of PHI you have to destroy.
When You Can Shred Medical Records in Connecticut
In Connecticut, Physicians are required to keep patient files 7 years from the last date of treatment or upon the death of the patient for 3 years. For Hospitals in Connecticut, they must maintain protected health information for 10 years after the patient has been discharged. Connecticut makes no distinction for minor patients.
Your Trusted Business Associate
A “business associate” is a person or entity that performs certain functions or activities that involve the use or disclosure of protected health information on behalf of or provides services to, a covered entity. Any document shredding company providing secure disposal of medical records is a business associate. When you call on FileShred for HIPAA compliance, we become your business associate, performing the destruction of your medical documents on your behalf, providing all of the proper documentation, and protecting you from up to $1.5 million in fines for violations. You’ll need to have a written business associate’s agreement as part of your documentation, and our knowledgeable staff can provide you with a sample and further assistance if needed.
Training Your Staff
Covered entities must ensure that their workforce members receive training on and follow the PHI disposal policies and procedures of the covered entity. Therefore, any workforce member involved in disposing of PHI, or who supervises others who dispose of PHI, must receive training on the proper disposal. FileShred can assist you with meeting this requirement.
Whether you’re a hospital or an individual practitioner, we have a HIPAA-compliant program that’s perfect for you. From one-time purges to regularly-scheduled health records destruction at any level of frequency, rely on the experts at FileShred for an easy and professional way to facilitate HIPAA compliance with the disposal of PHI that offers maximum peace of mind.
