OIG Urges More HIPAA Oversight

The US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General issued a study urging increased oversight of covered entities’s compliance with HIPAA.  The study, which can be accessed here, has five recommendations:

1. A permanent audit program
2. Complete documentation of corrective action
3. More efficient case-tracking
4. A policy to check previous investigations
5. Expanded outreach

This new guidance may serve to guide the Phase 2 HIPAA audits scheduled for 2016.