Small, rural hospitals looking to tap into federal funds to improve security compliance have a new tool at their disposal.
CynergisTek, an Austin, Texas-based developer of IT security solutions, has launched a HIPAA/HITECH Security Compliance Review solution designed specifically for rural hospitals of 49 beds or less. The service is designed to analyze all of the privacy and security requirements under HIPAA and the HITECH provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), then develop an action plan to bring the hospital into compliance.
Company officials say the solution will help the nation’s smallest hospitals qualify for more than $8,000 in annual funding to help reduce medical errors, support quality improvement and help pay for the costs of implementation of security compliance tools. That money is available through the Office of Rural Health Policy’s Small Rural Hospital Improvement (SHIP) grants.
“According to the Office of Rural Health Policy, there are approximately 1,600 hospitals that qualify for the SHIP Grant Program. Over the years we have served many rural hospitals and realize their challenges to keep pace with their larger counterparts can be immense,” said Mac McMillan, CynergisTek’s CEO. “In this era of ARRA and HITECH, the potential for this gap to grow even more significantly is great. At CynergisTek, our goal is provide solutions that will help those who want to leverage the SHIP Grant Program to help comply with HIPAA.”
McMillan pointed out that small hospitals often don’t have the resources or the finances to spend on security and compliance.