The HIPAA Security Rule requires covered entities and business associates to implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). For Ohio medical practices, dental offices, behavioral health providers, and their vendors, HIPAA compliance is not a point-in-time audit — it is a continuous program. This checklist covers the key requirements OCR auditors examine and the technical controls your IT partner must maintain.
OCR investigations following a breach typically focus first on whether a formal, documented risk analysis was completed — and whether your security controls reflected its findings. The most common finding in Ohio healthcare breach investigations is absence of a documented risk analysis, or a risk analysis that is years old and does not reflect the current environment.
Key fact: A HIPAA fine of $100,000–$1.9 million per violation category can result from a single breach. Ohio Safe Harbor provides an affirmative legal defense, but only if you maintained a recognized security framework before the incident.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule governs the use and disclosure of all Protected Health Information (PHI) in any form. The HIPAA Security Rule specifically governs electronic PHI (ePHI) and requires covered entities and business associates to implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect it.
Yes. Dental practices are covered entities under HIPAA because they create, receive, and transmit PHI. All administrative, physical, and technical safeguards of the HIPAA Security Rule apply, including risk analysis, encryption, access controls, audit logging, and Business Associate Agreements with vendors.
HIPAA requires risk analyses to be conducted and updated regularly — at a minimum, annually, and whenever significant operational or environmental changes occur. OCR investigators have cited outdated risk analyses (those more than 12–18 months old) as evidence of non-compliance.
A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is a written contract required when a covered entity shares ePHI with a vendor or contractor (business associate) who creates, receives, maintains, or transmits ePHI on the covered entity's behalf. This includes IT providers, cloud storage vendors, billing services, and any other company that touches ePHI.
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