For most covered entities, HIPAA Privacy Rules' April 14,
2003, enforcement deadline has come and gone with great relief that
all measures are in place. Unfortunately many covered entities have
a natural tendency to let their guards down when a critical
deadline passes. HIPAA Privacy Rules, like most laws, require
compliance twenty-four/seven, says Leonard J. Dietzen, an attorney
who specializes in HIPAA consulting. Rather than moving on to the
next urgent project, Dietzen suggests that now is the perfect time
to self audit your organization to see if the time and effort spent
on training your workforce has been effective. Far too often middle
level management are busy filling their work day with their own
numerous job responsibilities. Moreover, in a large multiple-site
location there is usually only one Privacy Officer who physically
cannot visit each building location to see whether the organization
is safeguarding PHI as contemplated by the rules.
