The HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA Compliance is a Federal government-based mandated standard medical and healthcare entities must meet, which is designed to protect the rights and privacy of patients.

The HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and sets forth guidelines for how industries and professionals in the medical and healthcare fields save, access, share or distribute electronic protected healthcare information, or (ePHI).

There are several facets of the guideline. One is Control Access. Affected industries must ensure access to sensitive medical information is limited to as few people as possible, those who access such information are properly tracked and logged and that their establishment have contingency plans in place which ensure medical information can be accessed in the event the operating system goes down. Another expectation of the guideline is Audit Control. Industries who need to maintain HIPAA compliance checklist must ensure medical records are easily accessible. Entities that are HIPAA Compliant will also maintain the integrity of their system, which demands safeguards be in place to prevent sensitive information from being altered or destroyed and that identities of anyone who requests access to such records be established before it is released. Security is another aspect of HIPAA compliance. Those who meet the standard will employ security measures that protect ePHI information from being observed by unauthorized persons during any type of electronic transfer.

Who Needs To Be HIPAA Compliant?

The HHS separates compliance into two categories: Covered Entities and Business Associates. Covered Entities are companies are individuals who directly operate in the medical or healthcare industries and include physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, healthcare companies, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Medicare and Medicaid. The other category is classified as Business Associates. This group comprises any business or establishment, which performs a specific task for a Covered Entity, which might expose them to ePHI information. Internet providers, banks, accountants and attorneys fit this category.

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HIPAA Risk Assessment Options

If you work in the healthcare or business industry, you’re probably familiar with HIPAA. HIPAA is a set of federal guidelines set forth to ensure healthcare organizations and their technological associates meet a specific set of standards in regards to how they protect and handle their patients’ personal health information. Many businesses also ascribe to the same rules for their clients.

One of the factors that make HIPAA so successful is the risk assessment portion, which mandates that HIPAA compliance consist of not only putting strict security measures in place to protect sensitive information, but also testing those security measures. Testing HIPAA security measures involves looking for potential loopholes or weak spots in the protection of personal health information, which could be thwarted by hackers, malware, and so on. Without a regular, thorough risk assessment, it would be impossible for an organization to be sure their patients’ or clients’ information is as highly protected as possible.

However, assessing the risk is not all HIPAA compliance requires. According to section 164.308 of the HIPAA bylaws, compliance requires that organizations also “implement security measures sufficient to reduce risks and vulnerabilities to a reasonable and appropriate level…” In short, any problems the risk assessment finds need to be immediately resolved and further assessed to be certain the fixes hold up. HIPAA’s guidelines do not specify how exactly risk assessment and repair must be performed, as that is up to the individual organization to decide the most effective method for them. What is specified is that doing the assessment and repair in some form must be adhered to the best capability of each HIPAA-compliant organization.

Choosing how to manage the risk assessment and repair or remediation portion of HIPAA can be complex for any organization due to the number of options available and the generalized nature of HIPAA guidelines. One of the newest and strongest options is software designed with the goal of compliance to this section of the HIPAA laws in mind. The software follows a simple process of testing the organization’s security and either repairs the problems or gives guidelines about the next steps the organization should take to make sure they can become HIPAA compliant or maintain current HIPAA compliance. These software programs are ideal because they are designed by leading experts in technology whose specialty is security. This knowledge allows for the design of software that is truly exceptional in terms of helping an organization be certain any risks can be modified and safeguarded to protect sensitive information now and in the future.

There are many companies who design leading edge software to help organizations become HIPAA compliant. The ideal company has excellent reviews and holds a HIPAA Seal of Compliance from the HIPAA Compliancy Group.

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Be Compliant or Be Fined

Be compliant or be fined. While that statement may seem harsh and unforgiving, when it comes to protecting the privacy of your patients that is the only way to look at things. To help safeguard the medical information of patients, the government implemented the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This law requires a strict adherence to policies and regulations to ensure the protection of all patient data.

Anyone working within the medical profession knows the importance of staying up-to-date and compliant with all HIPAA rules and regulations. Unfortunately, for many in the medical profession that have to keep records up-to-date and ensure all decisions are HIPAA compliant, this is just one big task in a sea of never-ending stressors and work. This is why a policy management software such as The Guard is so useful to any office or hospital.

Just as any law, there are many changes that occur every year. As technology grows, so does the importance of complying with each of these changes. A well-built policy management tool will update as the laws change and offer checklists to ensure the entire office is in compliance with the strict HIPAA laws.

For those that fail to meet the requirements of HIPAA rules, strict punishment is enforced. Hospitals have been fined almost a quarter of a million dollars for failing to comply, as well as a host of other fines, fees, and stipulations. Even worse than the monetary cost to an organization is the trust factor. A patient and their doctor have a special bond that relies on honesty and trust. Hospitals and organizations that do not take that bond seriously run the risk of losing the trust of their patients, making their job more difficult or their care less effective.

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HIPAA Compliance Software

Organizations responsible for the security of Protected Health Information (PHI) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) can implement software to attain compliance. Implementing the appropriatesoftware will not only ensure compliance but also drastically reduce the time required.Using HIPAA compliance software allows covered entities to maintain HIPAA, HITECH, and Omnibus compliance while avoiding the high cost associated with an audit. When a company uses the appropriate software, the daily management of HIPAA compliance can be affordable and flexible.

Any software that collects, stores, or shares PHI with an organization should include safeguards to protect data. HIPAA compliance software must adhere to the Privacy and Security Rules of HIPAA, due to the inherent dangers of handling PHI. One of the basic functions of HIPAA compliance software is secure access to PHI via unique user authentication. An essential element is the encryption of data. Additional functions include regular safety updates (which provide protection from any breach), the ability to audit data and ensure it has not been accessed or modified in any unauthorized way, and data backup.

Since there is no safe harbor clause for HIPAA, it is important to find third party file storage and hosting platforms that explicitly state they are HIPAA compliant. Building your own HIPAA compliance infrastructure is costly and time consuming. It will require ongoing expenditures to maintain, due to HIPAA law changes, updates and auditing. HIPAA hosting and compliance utilizes website applications or data storage and hosting services to comply with the physical safeguard requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule.

PHI must be stored in a compliant environment; therefore, using software and web-based applications can guarantee proper management and handling of PHI. Physical safeguard requirements of the Security Rule are also addressed with compliance software. The implementation of network and application security best practices will protect a hosting environment. A good infrastructure design eliminates all single point of failures, and the use of multiple servers provides essential backupshould a server crash. High availability and redundancy of data are crucial to HIPAA compliance infrastructures.

HIPAA compliance software delivers essential protection for any organization responsible for the security of documentation protected under HIPAA guidelines. Using third party file storage and hosting services will provide cost-effective solutions for HIPAA compliance.

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Get to know about the HIPAA risk assessment

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, better known as HIPAA, affects more than just insurance companies. Several establishments, including doctors, hospitals and pharmacies, must conformto HIPAA guidelines. One of the most important aspects regarding HIPAA is a risk assessment. This is why the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed a rule titled “Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information”, commonly known as the Security Rule.

All Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) is subjected to the Security Rule and companies who are required to follow HIPAA guidelines must implement security practices to protect this information. The Security Rule requires the evaluation of risks, threats and vulnerabilities, and the implementation of policies and procedures to address them. In order to identify the areas that pose a threat, organizations must develop the proper security processes.

Whether a threat is intentional or unintentional is irrelevant, the main focus should be compliance with HIPAA regulations. CMS developed basic steps to help with risk analysis and risk management. While this approach is not required, the following steps can help organizations develop a basic risk analysis. First, it is important to pinpoint the areas to be analyzed and begin gathering relevant data. This will provide structure to the analysis. Next, it is time to recognize and document any risks, threats, or vulnerabilities; once this is completed it’s time to evaluate security measures already in place. This will help to determine the likelihood of a security breach. The final steps include discovering the potential impact and level of risk, and deciding where to implement security measures.

Once a risk analysis has been completed, it’s time to develop a risk management strategy. Common steps to address risk management include creating a risk management plan to provide structure when implementing security measures. Once the plan is in place, it’s time to employ the necessary security measures. Finally, continuous evaluation of these measures is vital in maintaining security.

Risk analysis and management is an integral part of HIPAA risk assessment and compliance. CMS has provided extensive information on their website to help companies develop a plan of action specific to their own individual needs, while at the same time following the Security Rule to protect all ePHI and other documents falling under HIPAA guidelines. The steps recommended by CMSprovide a basic approach to effectively manage any threats or risks a company may encounter.

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Policy Management Software

As organizations grow, they face a continuous increase in the number and complexity of policies and procedures that staff members need to share and collaborate with one another. This is one of the biggest challenges for organizations of all types and sizes. It involves demonstrating compliance to auditors and the best practices to staff. This is required not just at periodic intervals, but also continuously and instantly to a variety of stakeholders.

It is essential to have high quality policy management software to help a company to be on top of itself. Such software allows users to create and refine policies and procedures in compliance with standards that are relevant. When policies are not maintained properly, its value decreases and the policy loses its authority and relevance.

Increasing regulatory requirements these days necessitates organizations be proactive in their management of important documents. Having up-to-date policy reduces the chance of liability and demonstrates an organization is acting in solid governance to government authorities, outside organizations, and even itself.

Misplaced documentation (either through poor organizational structure or poor systems architecture) can cost an organization valuable time, energy, and resources. The easier it is for staff to find documents and update them in a distributed real-time manner, the easier it is to ensure that the most up-to-date information is at the fingertips of those who need it. It is very helpful to have a means of recovering information if portions of a company’s policies, procedures, and guidelines are missing or no longer relevant. This aids in the flexibility of an organization tobounce back on its feet during times of change or disarray.

An end-to-end policy management package ensures that the creation, preservation, and deletion of information in the documentation occur in a step-by-step procedural manner. This process should be free from obstacles such as interference from conflicting processes, confusion on what processes are involved, and confusion as to the roles and responsibilities of who updates what and is accountable for what. A good policy management system takes all of these factors into account, while delegating authority and authorship as needed.

A proper policy management system will not only save time and energy but ultimately the bottom line expenses. There are a countless number of lost work hours that result from creating, recreating, and updating an organization’s policy in an inefficient manner. A seamless process in this regard allows an organization to use human resources elsewhere by taking care of the overhead.

In summary, good policy management software helps an organization maintain rigorous control over its infrastructure, track usage, update, and assimilate various components distributed throughout the organization. It gives individuals in the company a solid means of tracking policy changes and ensuring that authority in updates is delegated, and escalated, to the right parties at the right time. It can continuously reduce ineffective workflows by tracking changes throughout the process without the stopping and backtracking associated with manual policy management.

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HIPAA Compliance Checklist

Once you've concluded you are handling protected health information (PHI), you will have to ensure your organization is HIPAA compliant. Compliance with HIPAA requires going through a series of steps that, altogether achieved, ensure you are in-line with the regulations set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services for patient health records.

Compliance achievement can take the form of checklist that walks through the 4 sets of rules within HIPAA: The Privacy Rule, Security Rule, Enforcement Rule, and Breach Notification Rule. While it is beyond the scope of this article to provide a comprehensive breakdown, we will provide a basic overview of what such a checklist entails.

The Privacy Rule presents standards that protect health records that apply to various health care providers that conduct their transactions electronically. It involves preventing impermissible uses of the PHI, ensure breach notification procedures are in place, ensure appropriate access to the PHI, and provide disclosures to the Secretary of HHS as needed.

The HIPAA Security Rule ensures that various safeguards are in place on Technical, Physical, and Administrative levels. Some are designated as 'required', and others designated as 'addressable' (required for certain organizations).

Technical safeguards deal with: unique user identification, emergency access procedures, automatic logoff, encryption/decryption, audit controls, and authentication systems and methods. Physical safeguards deal with the physical location and the facilities themselves, including: contingency operations, security plans, access control, maintenance records, workstation use, workstation security, disposal of documents, accountability, and data backup/storage procedures.

Administrative safeguards cover the conduct of workers in the organization, and provide measures in place to protect PHI. It requires establishing a privacy officer, conducting staff training, review documentation on a regular basis, performing a risk assessment, creating agreements with the various Business Associates (BA) that partner with your organization.

The Enforcement Rule and Breach Notification Rule are not necessarily actionable in advance, but they spell out the penalties and procedures for hearings related to HIPAA non-compliance, as well as procedures for dealing with a breach of unsecured PHI.

Though seemingly daunting, the HIPAA compliance checklist rules can be applied and enforced in your organization in a systematic manner through a checklist. In addition, automatic tools can enhance the value of a checklist by having systematized procedures to bring your organization into compliance.

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Choosing HIPAA Compliance Software

Choosing HIPAA compliant software for your business in the healthcare industry is a must. HIPAA regulations can be complicated. The right software simplifies becoming compliant while also assisting you in managing your business by offering training and educational materials for staff. Whether you are an Business Associate in need of HIPAA compliance software or a Covered Entity, you will need to begin by looking at the features that will make operating your business within the current guidelines straightforward.

Features to choose



internal auditing is one of the most important features to look for when choosing HIPAA compliance software. Internal auditing allows you to assess your current methods and procedures for handling sensitive patient information and offers gap remediation that can be implemented within the workplace as needed to meet standard set by HIPAA regulations. HIPAA software should also be user-friendly. The laws and regulations may be complex but the software that you use should be accessible and easy to understand. 

Features such as HIPAA checklists, for example, are available to ensure you are following your plan toward HIPAA compliance. Data backup and emergency operation features are also important for businesses. These features allow you to access and secure patient health information even when you are experiencing problems with your system in the office. Opting for HIPAA software that is backed by customer support is ideal for organizations and entities when there is an issue with your internal electronics systems.

Affordable and Effective

The goal of HIPAA software is reaching compliance but there are also some other advantages for your organization. Internal auditing and included client support can both work to save your business from incredibly expensive outside audits and services. With the right HIPAA compliance software, your organization will be able to handle all aspects of becoming compliant with one simple program.

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