HHS Releases Risk Assessment Tool to Assist With HIPAA Compliance Efforts

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new tool to help health care providers in small to medium-size offices with compliance efforts under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

HIPAA requires organizations to conduct self-assessments to identify potential weaknesses and address vulnerabilities in the systems used to protect the security of patient health information.  This new tool will guide health care providers in conducting risk assessments.

A downloadable application and a tutorial video are available here.  Health care providers can also give feedback on the tool until June 2, 2014.