The proper disposal of documents containing protected health information (PHI) is a must in healthcare. As a healthcare provider, you’re required to implement safeguards to limit the exposure of PHI to unauthorized persons. The HIPAA-compliant shredder providers below can help you make the best choice.
Top 5 HIPAA-Compliant Document Shredding Services for Healthcare:
Why Healthcare Needs HIPAA-Compliant Professional Document Shredders
Professional document shredders are different from traditional office shredders. A HIPAA-compliant shredding service usually handles large volumes of paper, while commercial shredders typically handle smaller quantities. These shredders are also more efficient, letting you shred medical records faster in bulk. With a trusted and professional shredding service, you can lessen your worries about complying with the requirements set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Document shredding is one of the recommended ways to dispose of PHI properly. Other methods include burning, pulping, and pulverizing paper records and clearing, purging, and destroying the media that stores electronic documents (e.g., hard drives). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requires covered entities to employ any of these secure ways to ensure that PHI cannot be read, deciphered, or reconstructed by unauthorized persons.
Properly disposing of PHI also frees up space in your facility. You can reuse physical and electronic storage instead of buying new ones. If ever your business gets dissolved, proper PHI disposal is still essential if you want to avoid running into any legal problems.
HIPAA-compliant shredding services can help you comply with the law and avoid financial penalties. In one case concerning improper PHI disposal, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) under the HHS fined the New England Dermatology and Laser Center (NEDLC) a whopping $300,640 for improper PHI disposal. NEDLC placed empty specimen containers with PHI on the labels in the garbage bin, which led to HIPAA Privacy Rule violations.
Here are some of the businesses providing reliable and efficient HIPAA-compliant shredding services:
1. PROSHRED Security
PROSHED provides medical record shredding services for healthcare facilities, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and healthcare professionals. The company prides itself in being the only on-site shredding company in the US that is ISO 9001 Certified by NSF-ISR and NAID (National Association for Information Destruction) AAA certified. This means they are audited by third parties to verify that they can provide secure information destruction services.
After shredding your documents, PROSHRED will give you a signed Certificate of Destruction. This proves that your records were properly destroyed. The shredding service also states that it recycles most of its shredded documents into other paper products.
2. Shred Vault
In business since 1997, Shred Vault is a trusted name if you’re looking for a HIPAA-compliant shredding service. You can create regular schedules for document shredding, choose one-time shredding, drop off your documents in a Shred Vault kiosk, or have them do it in one of their ShredDay365 shred events. Aside from being HIPAA-compliant, the service is NAID AAA Certified and FISMA and GLBA-compliant.
Shred Vault can serve businesses of all sizes. Small medical offices will benefit from Shred Vault kiosks located in different cities. Meanwhile, large healthcare facilities can avail of Shred Vault On-Site Shredding. They also provide an app to track documents until they are completely destroyed.
3. Shred America
Shred America, located in several US states, specializes in document shredding and destruction. You can opt for a one-time purge, regularly scheduled visits, mobile shredding, or drop-offs. They also provide shred events, a community-driven project where businesses and individuals can have their documents destroyed on-site.
Shred America asserts that it is a “plant-based service,” meaning it uses renewable energy to shred documents. Like most shredding services, it recycles shredded paper. Also, its commercial shredding services comply with GDPR, HIPAA, FACTA, FERPA, and NIST guidelines.
4. American Shredding
Those in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Seattle-Tacoma can check out American Shredding. The company provides HIPAA-compliant and high-volume paper shredding. You can choose to shred the papers in your location or have them shredded in the company’s secure facility.
Like other shredding services on this list, American Shredding has NAID AAA Certification to ensure data privacy. Their vehicles undergo government registration, inspection, and insurance. Your papers will be transported in lockable and enclosed cargo areas, while mobile shredders include round-the-clock GPS surveillance. American Shredding also provides a Certificate of Destruction to ensure HIPAA-compliant shredding.
5. Shred-it
Shred-it, a NAID Certified shredding service, is run by the multi-awarded Stericycle company. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stericycle was recognized as the 2021 Company of the Year in the 19th Annual American Business Awards for “safely managing the transportation, treatment, and disposal of potentially infectious items” in nearly 40 US states and over 4,500 COVID-19 testing sites.
You can avail of Shred-it’s one-time, drop-off, regularly scheduled, or mobile paper shredding services. They also offer shredding events for communities to promote data privacy across North America. If you choose to have your documents picked up, Shred-it will send one of its security-trained experts to your facility. You will receive a Certificate of Destruction once your papers are destroyed.
Using HIPAA-Compliant Shredders in Healthcare
Ensuring HIPAA compliance in document shredders is critical in healthcare. If you want to follow the law, avoid massive fines, and protect your patient’s sensitive information, you will consider professional shredding services that follow HIPAA guidelines.
By employing HIPAA-compliant shredding services, you can tick off one crucial compliance aspect: proper paper disposal. Always follow the appropriate disposal steps per the federal law’s guidelines and mandated procedures.
