What We’re Excited About at the 2019 HCCA Compliance Institute
On April 7- 10, 2019, the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) is hosting its Compliance Institute in Boston. With over 100 sessions, networking opportunities, and an exhibit hall full of solution providers, it’s the most comprehensive event for tackling real-world issues in healthcare compliance. But what are we the most excited about at the HCCA Compliance Institute? Here are the session tracks that we’re making sure to hit:
General Compliance/Hot Topics
Ranging from compliance basics to buzzworthy issues, General Compliance/Hot Topics details what you need to know to maintain a strong, HIPAA-compliant organization. This track includes sessions such as “Compliance Program Start Up: What Are the Basics Needed for Your Infrastructure?” and trending issues like women in cybersecurity.
According to U.S. News and World Report’s Best Technology Jobs, cybersecurity ranks as one of the top career opportunities in the United States. However, women comprise only 10% of the cybersecurity workforce. The “Women in Cybersecurity: Shattering the Career Mystique” session, led by an expert panel including Maliha Charania, Senior IT Risk Management Consultant at Meditology Services, LLC; Anahi Santiago, Chief Information Security Officer of Christina Care Health System; Monique Hart, Executive Director of Information Security at Piedmont Healthcare; and Dana Carter, Information Security Officer at Sutter Health, addresses misconceptions about careers in information security and the skills they require.
Whether you’re new to compliance or a seasoned professional with years of experience, General Compliance/Hot Topics keeps your finger on the pulse of the ever-changing healthcare industry.
Privacy & Security
Courses under the Privacy & Security track aim to build an understanding of the vital information you need to be aware of to prevent a breach. From “HIPAA Privacy Officer 101” to “Cutting Through the Noise: Determining Whether Your Vendor’s Security Incident is a Breach,” this track empowers you to build a culture of privacy and security.
HIPAA enforcement, privacy monitoring, and breach prevention are core themes in this track. In this time where healthcare technology is changing rapidly with more and more records being stored in the cloud and interoperable systems, patient data is more spread out — and vulnerable to breach — than ever. Maintaining compliance while galvanizing your organization’s security is essential for preventing threats such as snooping, identity theft, and malicious insiders. With these risks in mind, the Privacy & Security track contains important sessions for those hoping to grow and maintain a culture of compliance.
Advanced Compliance
The HCCA Compliance Institute does a great job of focusing on compliance at different maturity levels. For the upcoming 2019 event, they’ve added an Advanced Compliance track that’s geared towards seasoned compliance professionals with over 10 years of experience.
Advanced Compliance offers sessions on complex topics such as, “Mergers & Acquisitions During a Time of Healthcare Transformation: Whether Managed Care, Provider, or Ancillary Services — Compliance” and “Navigating the Changing Regulatory and Enforcement Landscape Relating to Opioids.” In recent years, cases of drug diversion have escalated, making this session especially vital to compliance professionals looking to keep their facilities – and their patients – safe from risks caused by the opioid crisis.
Risk
Another new track added for the Boston Compliance Institute is Risk. HCCA defines risk management as:
“A risk-based approach to managing an enterprise, a framework to identify, assess, mitigate and communicate risk in an integrated approach to help influence decision making and strategic development.”
Risk sessions include sessions such as “Capture the Big Picture! Design a Risk Assessment Framework that Accurately Depicts Your Risk Landscape” and Increasing Compliance and Reducing Risk Through Information Governance Practices.
Failing to respond to risks carries real consequences. Not being prepared for a HIPAA audit – or outright breaking HIPAA rules – comes with severe outcomes, including, but not limited to, fines up to $250,000 and even criminal penalties resulting in prison terms ranging from one to 10 years. Governance and patient privacy solutions help ensure that your organization is equipped to address risks while protecting the privacy of patient data.
The HCCA Compliance Institute in Boston is gearing up to be an informative and insightful event. On top of its outstanding program of sessions and continuing education is the opportunity to network with other healthcare compliance professionals from across the country. This way, we can come together to “collaborate and share ideas and solutions with healthcare compliance professionals at all levels and from around the world.”