Dental practices face increasing regulatory scrutiny and evolving cyber threats, while simultaneously adopting new technologies such as artificial intelligence. This course examines current HIPAA Security Rule requirements, recent enforcement trends from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and practical cybersecurity safeguards specific to dental settings.

Participants will also explore the responsible implementation of AI tools in clinical and administrative workflows, including data privacy considerations, vendor risk management, and emerging compliance risks. The session emphasizes documentation, due diligence, and defensible risk management strategies appropriate for dental practices of all sizes.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain current HIPAA Security Rule requirements and recent HHS enforcement trends affecting dental practices.
• Identify common cybersecurity vulnerabilities in dental environments, including ransomware exposure, inadequate backup validation, vendor risk, and access control weaknesses.
• Describe appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards required to protect electronic protected health information (ePHI).