The US Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is now offering a free tool to enable physical therapists (PTs) and other healthcare professionals to conduct HIPAA security risk assessments. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) reports that the ONC is offering a downloadable Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool that was developed in collaboration with the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights and the Office for the General Counsel.
The SRA tool allows healthcare professionals to take a self-directed tour of HIPAA standards and helps them conduct a risk assessment at their own pace, as indicated on the APTA news release. The tool is designed to lead users through each HIPAA requirement through a series of yes or no questions. The tool also provides space for documentation and features “context sections” that explain threats and vulnerabilities, examples of safeguards, a glossary, and report charts that display the user’s risk levels.
The APTA news release notes that the generated report can also be exported as a Microsoft Excel file or PDF document. The tool is available for both Microsoft and iOS (iPad only). For additional information or to download the tool, visit www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/security-risk-assessment.
Source: APTA
