Maintaining Regulatory Compliance: The Value of Partnering with an Expert

January 20, 2022

Maintaining Regulatory Compliance: The Value of Partnering with an Expert

An effective regulatory compliance program can go a long way toward preserving safety and security while avoiding costly fines. Unfortunately, keeping up with changing regulatory requirements can be challenging-especially as your healthcare organization wrestles with other pressing issues, not the least of which is a continuing pandemic.

Although there are numerous regulations that span a variety of topics, worker safety and data privacy should be top priorities. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) governs worker safety, requiring healthcare facilities to follow a comprehensive set of rules designed to reduce risk. The Department of Health and Human Services regulates protected health information per the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

In 2022, there are factors to be aware of in both of these regulatory areas. OSHA, for example, has a new requirement that addresses the pandemic, calling for entities to create a COVID-19 plan that covers patient screening, personal protection, physical distancing, cleaning and disinfection, ventilation, vaccination, training, and more.

Regarding information security, compliance deadlines for the 21st Century Cures Act-a bipartisan law that promotes interoperability and gives patients greater access to their own health information-are on the horizon. A key part of this legislation relates to information blocking, which occurs when an entity intentionally or unintentionally interferes with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI). Your organization should be reviewing its privacy and security policies, assessing risk, making updates, and offering training to ensure HIPAA compliance while avoiding information blocking. The right partner can provide expertise to support you with this.

Staying Ahead of the Challenges

Given all this change, it's important to make sure you're consistently meeting evolving regulations. One way to do this is to partner with a compliance authority like Stericycle. Our team of in-house OSHA and HIPAA experts has the knowledge and experience to help you remain compliant even amid changing regulations and dynamic situations. By working with us, you can

• Stay current. We can help you stay informed on new developments for rules that pertain to your setting and alert you to potential changes coming in the future.
  
  
• Avoid fines. The penalties associated with non-compliance can be steep, whether they come from regulatory agencies or through litigation. We work with you to create and maintain comprehensive compliance programs that may help you limit the likelihood of negative financial repercussions. For instance, with our No Fine. No Fail.^SM OSHA Guarantee, if you follow our bloodborne pathogen program and recommendations, and nevertheless receive an OSHA citation in that area, we'll pay those penalties.*
  
  
• Customize compliance. Our team provides deep knowledge when and where you want it. From online training to live assessments to acute response, Stericycle partners with you to manage both day-to-day needs and unexpected situations. Because we work with organizations across the healthcare continuum, we know the questions to ask to help you determine whether you're in compliance with applicable regulations, and we can offer site-specific and scenario-specific controls.
  
  
• Connect your employees with state-of-the-art training. Our easy-to-navigate, online training modules are accessible anytime from anywhere, so your staff can stay current, and you can meet the training requirements for different regulations. We have been recognized as a Training Industry 2021 Watch List Company in the Employee Health, Safety and Wellness Training category for our OSHA and HIPAA training and compliance solutions portfolio.
  
  
• Weave compliance into daily work. We've designed our products and services to be convenient with minimal intrusion into your busy schedule. When you access our on-demand digital training tools, sample compliance policies, webinars that explain and simplify complex regulations, and expert advice on compliance program development, you can be confident you're taking steps to stay up to date on the latest rules without having to lose focus on other critical priorities.

Assess Your Risk with Our OSHA and HIPAA Compliance Assessment Tool

The first step toward compliance is understanding your risks. In less than five minutes, you can take a simple self-assessment that can help you identify potential gaps in your OSHA and HIPAA compliance programs.

Stericycle's proprietary Compliance Assessment Tool helps to identify potential risks associated with your facility's OSHA and HIPAA programs by asking about your current policies, procedures, trainings, and documentation, and providing you with a quantifiable estimate of the potential OSHA and HIPAA compliance risk to your facility. From there, our local representatives can help you determine the best approach to address any concerns and help you maintain compliance.

Assess your OSHA and HIPAA compliance programs, and get your recommendations today!

*Feature included as part of our Steri-Safe OSHA Preferred and Steri-Safe Platinum Offerings