Meeker Sharkey & Hurley Offers Free Webinar to Help Companies Avoid Penalties and Fines from HIPAA Audits

CRANFORD, N.J., July 14, 2016 -- Meeker Sharkey & Hurley, one of the region’s leading providers of employee benefits and insurance services, is offering a free webinar on July 27 to help companies prepare for HIPAA compliance and audits by the federal government’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). HIPAA audits can expose healthcare providers and their vendors to enforcement actions, including substantial fines and possible imprisonment for individuals and companies.

Recent HIPAA settlements include a clinic paying $750,000 for disclosing protected health information (PHI); a research institute data breach resulting in a $3.9 million fine due a laptop theft; and a health provider’s $1.5 million fine for failing to implement a HIPAA business associate agreement. Although arrests are rare, a healthcare worker was recently sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for “wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information.”

The webinar will review HIPAA requirements, the Affordable Care Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Title VIII. It will address who is covered by HIPAA and the privacy provisions for PHI.

“In March the government announced a new phase of HIPAA audits. It is critical for healthcare organizations to review their HIPAA compliance measures and make sure they have documented all the necessary policies and procedures,” said Tom Sharkey, president, Meeker Sharkey & Hurley. “Our free webinar is designed to help companies understand and comply with HIPAA requirements, which will help them avoid potential penalties.”

The webinar will be conducted by Mark Rambo, MSM, PHR, SHRM-CP and executive vice president of HR Workplace Services. For more than 20 years, Rambo has held numerous senior level management positions where he led operational, finance and human resource functions for public and private companies.

The free one-hour webinar is on Wednesday, July 27 from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. EST. To register, visit http://www.meekersharkey.com. Registrants will be granted access to the webinar video, which can be viewed at their convenience. Presentation materials will also be available for download.

About Meeker Sharkey & Hurley

Serving the community since the 1860s, Meeker Sharkey & Hurley provides both personal and commercial insurance, employee benefits and risk management services. In 2014, the firm merged with the James F. Hurley Insurance Agency. The firm is noted for its dedicated associates, high-quality client experiences, personal attention, and customized commercial risk management and benefit strategies for mid-market companies in the Tri-State region. For more information, visit www.meekersharkey.com.