Why Has Mobile Shredding Become Popular with Healthcare Facilities?

While the use of electronic health records (EHR) and electronic medical records (EMR) provide a convenience factor to a healthcare facility, it can also drastically increase the risk of data breaches. Often, these types of businesses choose to use paper documents for the functions of their practice, in addition to EHR/EMR. To dispose of documents properly, mobile shredding has become a popular choice among healthcare facilities, to ensure the security of their information.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was formed in 1996 in order to protect the confidentiality of healthcare information and boost the security of such, among other things. HIPAA makes it so that healthcare facilities must dispose of sensitive documents in a specific manner so that the practice’s information remains confidential.

Despite the strict guidelines set by HIPAA, there has still been an increase in violations each year. In the event of a HIPAA violation, healthcare facilities could be responsible for paying a financial penalty. These particular violations can prove to be costly, so in order to avoid violating a HIPAA standard, many healthcare facilities are choosing to use the services of a mobile shredding business.

Hiring a mobile shredding company can ensure the healthcare facility that their practice’s documents are being disposed of in the proper way. Companies like PROSHRED Chicago make sure that they are current on shredding legislation and provide that they are destroying documents to meet standards set by acts such as HIPAA.

Confidentiality

Aside from abiding by the procedures set by HIPAA, healthcare facilities are concerned with confidentiality. Practices have a legal obligation to make sure information is secure, but it is also a matter of ethics. Because of this, many healthcare facilities choose to use a mobile shredding service in order to rid of their documents. These papers have to be shredded beyond the point of reconstruction to ensure that sensitive information cannot be leaked or stolen, and companies like PROSHRED can ensure that is what they do.

Mobile shredding brings the shredder to the healthcare facility so that documents do not have to travel beyond the property in order to be destroyed properly. After being carried in locked containers, documents are shredded on the premises in state-of-the-art shredding trucks. Employees of healthcare facilities no longer have to worry if their documents are destroyed by HIPAA standards, as their mobile shredding company can ensure that they are.

Improved Process

By hiring a mobile shredding business to dispose of sensitive documents, shredding does not have to take place in-house by employees of the healthcare facility. Those employees then no longer have the burden of disposing of documents properly. This can improve the processes run within the practice, as employees can focus their attention on properly tending to other tasks, such as caring for patients.

If you are interested in learning more about how a mobile shredding business can increase confidentiality and compliance with HIPAA standards for your healthcare facility, please visit our website to view our services.