Health / HIPAA

In enacting HIPAA, Congress mandated the establishment of standards for the privacy of individually-identifiable health information (such as patient records and files). According to HIPAA Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (45 CFR Parts 160 and 164), covered entity must have appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information with a compliance date of April 14, 2003. HIPAA privacy regulations mandate that security safeguards be in place to control access and protect information from accidental or intentional disclosure to unauthorized persons and from alteration, destruction or loss.   
 
As a result, new information management practices have been introduced in the healthcare industry to limit the access and viewing of patient records. But, the new generation of Digital Copiers and MFPs are silently storing thousands of patient records in memory every time a print or copy is made, which if accessed, could place your business in serious violation.   
 
HIPAA covers health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers who conduct certain financial and administrative transactions (e.g., billing and funds transfers) electronically.   
 
The final security rule states that: "The implementation of reasonable and appropriate security measures also supports compliance with privacy standards, just as lack of adequate security can increase the risk of violation of the privacy standards." Covered entities must ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all electronic protected health information the covered entity creates, receives, maintains or transmits.   
 
HIPAA requires the implementation of technical security measures to guard against unauthorized access to protected health information that is being transmitted over an electronic communications network. Covered entities must provide physical safeguards, including facility access, workstation security, and device and media controls.  
 
 Protect yourself! 
 
Sharp has a four-fold approach to providing our clients and their patients with secure document technology solutions with regard to privacy:

1. Secure the Image Data: Sharp provides a Common Criteria validated data security solution which first encrypts and then overwrites document image data stored on the MFP's hard disk, RAM and/or Flash memory during the copying, printing, scanning and faxing process
2. Secure the Network Interface: Sharp network interface cards (NIC) enable the network administrator to provide individual access protection to connected MFPs and printers. With this network card, the Sharp digital copier is essentially protected by its own firewall. This unique firmware prevents unauthorized users from accessing the MFP's internal data, launching denial of service attacks and intentionally or inadvertently changing the MFPs settings
3. Secure the Output: Sharp provides you with the ability to limit the viewing of confidential printed material and MFP access by requiring the user to first authenticate themselves at the device
4. Secure the Audit Trail: Sharp offers additional hardware and software accessories that enable you to control access and track usage across your printers and digital copiers. This extensive monitoring enables you to track every page that is printed and copied. This has the added benefit of deterring unauthorized use of network printers and MFPs