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HIPAA Business Agreements

Several years ago, Fletcher-Flora implemented policies and procedures to secure protected patient information as required by HIPAA. According to HIPAA, all healthcare institutions are required to have a business agreement in effect with all vendors who may have access to protected patient information. This business agreement stipulates that a vendor will protect any patient information it has access to, in accordance with HIPAA guidelines. If you have not already completed your business agreement with Fletcher Flora, please contact us at 1-800-777-1471.

LabPak Customers: Operating System Security Issues

It is important to understand that the security issues related to HIPAA regulations affect the operating system your computers use. Although not clearly stated by HIPAA, Windows® operating systems prior to Windows 2000®, such as Windows 95® and Windows 98®, generally will not stand up to the security requirements needed to protect patient information. Therefore, if your institution relies on the security built into the operating system to protect information and you have a Windows operating system version prior to Windows 2000, your patient data may not be adequately secured to meet HIPAA regulations. It would be best for our customers with Windows 95 or Windows 98 to update their operating system to one that provides a more secure environment and to ensure compliance with the HIPAA regulations. If you currently use an older version of Windows operating system, please contact us to help you determine a plan and associated costs for your upgrade.